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720  FIFTH  AVENUE      NEW  YORK 


INIGO  JONES 
After  the  original  painting  by  Van  Dyke 


Design  for  the  portico  of  old  St.  Paul's  by  Inigo 
Jones 


Design  for  the  central  portion  of  the  upper  story 
of  the  banquet  hall,  Whitehall,  by  Inigo  Jones 


CREATORS  OF 
DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Being  a  Survey  of  the  Decorative  Periods  in 
England  from  1600  to  1800,  with  Special 
Reference  to  the  Masters  of  Applied  Art 
Who  Developed  the  Dominant  Styles 

By  WALTER  A.  DYER 

AUTHOR  OF 
"THE  LURE  OF  THE  ANTIQUE," 
"EARLY  AMERICAN  CRAFTSMEN," 
ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED  WITri  SIXTY-FOUR 
FULL  PAGE*  OF  pHOTOOX 4 PHS 


Garden  City  New  York 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMP, 
1917 


Copyright,  1917,  by 
DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

n'g£/s  reserved,  including  that  of 
translation  into  foreign  languages, 
including  the  Scandinavian 


1  y*^r 


WITHDRAWN  FROM  *' 
COOPER  UNION-  LIBRARY 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The  greater  portion  of  the  material  in  this  book 
appeared  originally  in  the  form  of  a  series  of  magazine 
articles  in  Arts  and  Decoration,  with  the  exception  of 
the  chapter  on  Jean  Tijou,  which  appeared  in  The  Art 
World.  For  permission  to  republish  them  in  book 
form,  the  author  desires  to  render  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment to  the  editors  and  publishers  of  those  periodicals. 

W.  A.  D. 


r 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

L  The  Development  of  Applied  Art  in 

England   3 

II.  Inigo  Jones   11 

III.  Daniel  Marot   26 

IV.  Sir  Christopher  Wren      .    .    .    .    .  41 
V.  Grinling  Gibbons   .......  54 

VI.  JeanTijou   68 

VII.  Thomas  Chippendale   84 

VIII.  Sir  William  Chambers   98 

IX.  Robert  Adam   109 

X.  Josiah  Wedgwood   123 

XI.  George  Hepplewhite   138 

XII.  Thomas  Sheraton  .......  154 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Inigo  Jones.  After  the  original  painting  by 
Van  Dyke  Frontispiece 

Design  for  the  portico  of  Old  St.  Paul's,  by 
Inigo  Jones  Frontispiece 

Design  for  the  central  portion  of  the  upper  story 
of  the  banquet  hall,  Whitehall,  by  Inigo 
Jones  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Press  cupboard  of  oak,  with  typical  Jacobean 
ornament,  1650-1675.  In  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art,  New  York  4 

Oak  wainscot  chair,  about  1650.  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art  4 

Dining  table  of  the  plainer  Jacobean  type,  1650- 
1675.   Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art    ...  5 

Small  table  of  oak  and  walnut,  showing  the  pop- 
ular spiral  turning.  1660-1685.  Metropoli- 
tan Museum  of  Art  5 

Oak  gate-leg  table,  with  carved  legs  and  sup- 
ports. Restoration  period,  about  1685.  Met- 
ropolitan Museum  of  Art  5 

Chimneypiece  and  wall  decorations  designed  by 
Daniel  Marot  12 

State  bed  designed  by  Daniel  Marot  .    .    .    .  13 

vii 


Viii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

Six  chairs  designed  by  Daniel  Marot  "...  16 

Typical  Charles  II  or  Restoration  chair  of  walnut 
and  cane,  with  the  Flemish  foot.  From  the 
Bolles  collection  17 


English  chair  of  carved  walnut  of  the  William  and 
Mary  period,  showing  Marot's  influence    .    .  17 

English  armchair  of  the  period  of  William  and 
Mary,  showing  Marot's  influence.  Metropoli- 


tan Museum  of  Art  20 

English  cabinet  of  the  period  of  William  and 
Mary,  embellished  with  marquetry  of  the 
Dutch-Italian  type.  Metropolitan  Museum 
of  Art  20 

Sir  Christopher  Wren,  after  the  portrait  painted 
by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller,  owned  by  the  Royal 
Society  21 

The  west  prospect  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  as  de- 
signed by  Wren.  Begun  1672,  finished  1710. 
From  an  old  print  28 

Wall  panels,  door,  and  chimneypiece  from  a 
mansion  of  the  period  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren, 
with  carving  showing  the  influence  of  Grinling 
Gibbons.  Now  in  the  possession  of  the  Met- 
ropolitan Museum  of  Art  29 

High  chest  of  drawers  of  the  William  and 
Mary  period,  with  Flemish  paneling.  Met- 
ropolitan Museum  of  Art  32 

Late  Queen  Anne  or  Early  Georgian  highboy, 
beautifully  finished  in  walnut  veneer.  Note 
the  Dutch  legs,  broken  arch  pediment,  and 
brass  fittings  32 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  ix 

PACING  PAGS 

Early  Queen  Anne  chair,  with  Dutch  back,  rush 
bottom,  and  Spanish  foot.  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art  33 


Secretary  or  bookcase  desk  with  the  double-arch 
top  introduced  during  the  time  of  Queen.  Anne. 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  

A  later  Queen  Anne  chair  of  the  more  ornate  type, 
made  of  walnut  decorated  with  carving  and 
gilding.    Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art    .  . 

Grinling  Gibbons,  after  the  portrait  by  Sir  God- 
frey Kneller  

Overmantel  from  Holme  Lacy,  carved  in  oak  by 
Grinling  Gibbons,  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  

The  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen,  the  famous  com- 
position carved  in  wood  by  Grinling  Gibbons, 
now  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 

The  Bishop's  Chair,  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  period 
^  of  James  II.    A  Restoration  type  with  carving 


in  the  style  of  Gibbons  45 

The  coat  of  arms  of  George  I,  with  a  graceful 
mantling  of  acanthus  leaves.  Carved  in  lime 
wood  by  Grinling  Gibbons,  deeply  undercut 
and  unpainted.  Metropolitan  Museum  of 
Art   45 

The  Last  Supper,  the  reredos  painting  in  St. 
James's  Church,  with  a  carved  frame  by  Grin- 
ling Gibbons  48 

Carving  now  over  the  east  door  of  the  Throne 
Room  at  Windsor  Castle,  by  Grinling  Gibbons  48 


33 

33 
36 

37 

44 


X  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 


Wrought  iron  gates  at  Eaton  Hall,  Chester,  de- 
signed by  Jean  Tijou  and  perhaps  brought 
from  Hampton  Court  49 

Detail  of  the  lock  rail  of  the  centre  gate,  east 
front,  Hampton  Court  Palace,  designed  by- 
Jean  Tijou.  The  six-inch  rule  shows  the 
scale  64 

One  of  the  twelve  panels  in  the  screen  about  the 
Fountain  Garden  at  Hampton  Court,  de- 
signed by  Tijou  64 

Tijou' s  design  for  one  of  the  twelve  panels  in  the 
wrought  iron  screen  about  the  Fountain  Gar- 
den at  Hampton  Court  65 

Tijou' s  design  for  the  gates  and  wickets  in  the 
fence  of  the  Long  Walk,  Hampton  Court     .  65 

A  Louis  XV  chimneypiece,  showing  Chinese  in- 
fluence. From  "The  Gentleman  and  Cabinet- 
Maker's  Director,"  by  Thomas  Chippendale  68 

A  walnut  veneer  chair  of  the  Early  Georgian  or 
pre-Chippendale  period,  when  the  ball-and- 
claw  foot  came  into  vogue,  after  1715.  Met- 
ropolitan Museum  of  Art  .69 

An  American-made  chair  after  a  Chippendale 
pattern  of  the  ladder-back  type.  Metropoli- 
tan Museum  of  Art  69 

A  Chippendale  chair  of  the  Gothic  type.  Met- 
ropolitan Museum  of  Art  70 

A  Chippendale  chair  with  a  back  of  the  French 
type.    Bolles  collection  70 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

PACING  PAGE 

A  ribbon-back  Chippendale  chair  in  the  more 
elaborate  manner  of  Louis  XV.  Courtesy  of 
Duveen  Brothers  71 

Mahogany  tea  stand  by  Chippendale,  with 
pierced  gallery.  Metropolitan  Museum  of 
Art  74 

Mahogany  card  table  with  straight  legs  and 
carved  edges,  by  Chippendale.  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art  74 

One  of  Chippendale's  more  extravagant  designs. 
A  Louis  XV  sofa  from  "The  Gentleman  and 
Cabinet-Maker's  Director"  74 

A  china  cabinet  by  Chippendale,  in  modified 
Chinese  style.    Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  76 

Two  of  Chippendale's  designs  for  clock-cases 
combining  Louis  XV  and  Chinese  details. 
From  the  "Director"  76 

Sir  William  Chambers,  after  the  portrait  by 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds   77 

An  engraving  by  Marlow  and  Rooker  showing 
three  of  the  buildings  in  Kew  Gardens  de- 
signed by  Sir  William  Chambers  ....  80 

Fireplaces  designed  by  Sir  William  Chambers. 
From  "The  Decorative  Part  of  Civil  Archi- 
tecture" 81 

Design  for  a  Greek  (Doric)  casino  by  Sir  Wil- 
liam Chambers.  From  "The  Decorative 
Part  of  Civil  Architecture"   86 

One  of  the  Chinese  buildings  in  Kew  Gardens 
designed  by  Chambers  87 


Xll  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAG* 

An  Ionic  temple  in  Kew  Gardens  as  designed 
by  Chambers  96 

Robert  Adam,  after  a  painting  in  the  Royal 
Institute  of  British  Architects1  97 

Design  for  a  bridge  from  "The  Works  in  Archi- 
tecture of  R.  &  J.  Adam"  100 

Designs  for  marble  chimneypieces  with  mir- 
rors, from  "The  Works  in  Architecture  of  R. 
&  J.  Adam"  101 

Designs  for  mirrors  and  sideboard  in  "The 
Works  in  Architecture  of  R.  &  J.  Adam"     .  108 

Designs  for  furniture  and  decorations  for  the 
Countess  of  Derby.  From  "The  Works  in 
Architecture  of  R.  &  J.  Adam."    ....  109 

Mirror  frame  designed  by  Adam.  Metropoli- 
tan Museum  of  Art  112 

Urn-shaped  knife-boxes  of  satinwood,  Adam 
style.    Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art ,    .    .  112 

Sedan  chair  for  Queen  Charlotte,  from  "The 
Works  in  Architecture  of  R.  &  J.  Adam"     .  112 

Chimneypiece  with  pewter  mountings  and  steel 
grate,  designed  by  Adam.  Metropolitan  Mu- 
seum of  Art   113 

Satinwood  cabinet  in  Adam  style.  Metropoli- 
tan Museum  of  Art   116 

An  armchair  in  Adam  style.    Bolles  collection  116 

Josiah  Wedgwood,  after  the  portrait  by  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  117 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  Xlll 

FACING  PAGE 

Part  of  a  dinner  service  of  queen's  ware  made  by 
Wedgwood  at  Etruria.  Metropolitan  Mu- 
seum of  Art  124 

Decorative  jasper  placque  probably  designed 
by  Flaxman  and  made  at  Etruria  by  Wedg- 
wood.   Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art     .    .  125 

Part  of  a  blue  and  white  tea  set  of  jasper  ware. 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  125 

A  group  of  jasper  pieces  made  at  Etruria.  Met- 
ropolitan Museum  of  Art  128 

A  basalt  tea  set  made  by  Wedgwood  at  Etruria. 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  128 

Jasper  vase  in  Classic  form  made  at  Etruria. 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  .    .  ^.    .    .  129 

A  copy  of  Wedgwood's  famous  Portland  Vase 
made  at  Etruria  after  his  death.  Metropoli- 
tan Museum  of  Art   129 

A  vase  of  black  basalt  made  by  Wedgwood  & 
Bentley.    Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  .    .  129 

Pebbleware  vases  made  by  Wedgwood  & 
Bentley.    Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art .     .  132 

A  toy  teapot  in  black  basalt  with  encaustic 
enamel  decorations.  Metropolitan  Museum 
of  Art  132 

Nine  decorative  medallions — Classic  figures  — 
in  blue  and  white  jasper,  by  Wedgwood  & 
Bentley.    Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art .    .  133 

A  typical  Wedgwood  portrait  medallion — the 
head  of  Linnaeus.  Metropolitan  Museum  of 
Art  133 


XIV  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACING  PAGE 

Designs  for  Pembroke  tables,  from  "The  Cabi- 
net-Maker's and  Upholsterer's  Guide,"  by  A. 


Hepplewhite  &  Co  140 

Design  for  a  secretary,  from  "The  Cabinet- 
Maker  and  Upholsterer's  Guide,"  by  A. 
Hepplewhite  &  Co  141 

Chair  designs  from  the  "Guide."  The  right- 
hand  style  is  the  typical  Hepplewhite  shield- 
back;  the  left-hand  one  is  an  instance  of 
overlapping  with  the  style  usually  credited 
to  Sheraton  ^ .    .    .  144 

Design  for  a  sideboard,  from  "The  Cabinet- 
Maker's  and  Upholsterer's  Guide,"  by  A. 
Hepplewhite  &  Co  145 

A  Hepplewhite  settee  or  window  seat,  showing 
the  Adam  influence.  Metropolitan  Museum 
of  Art  148 

Sideboard  attributed  to  Thomas  Shearer.  Met- 
ropolitan Museum  of  Art  148 

An  early  Hepplewhite  chair,  showing  the  Chip- 
pendale influence.  Metropolitan  Museum 
of  Art  149 

A  Hepplewhite  mahogany  pier  table,  inlaid  with 
satinwood.    Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  149 

An  American-made  shield-back  chair  in  pure 
Hepplewhite  style.  Metropolitan  Museum 
of  Art  .....    /  156 

A  Hepplewhite  shield-back  armchair  with  cane 
seat.    Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art   .    .    .  156 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  XV 

FACING  PAGE 

An  American-made  escritoire  in  the  Hepplewhite 
style.    Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art .    .    .  157 

Tambour  desk  (open)  of  mahogany  with  satin- 
wood  inlay,  Hepplewhite  style.  Metropoli- 
tan Museum    157 

Designs  for  inlaid  clock-cases,  from  Thomas 
Sheraton's  " Drawing-Book"  164 

Designs  for  richly  inlaid  pier  tables,  from 
Sheraton's  "Drawing-Book"  165 

Two  typical  chair  designs,  from  Sheraton's 
"Drawing-Book"  168 

A  drawing-table  in  Sheraton  style.  Metropoli- 
tan Museum  of  Art  169 

A  typical  Sheraton  table,  with  inlay  on  the  front 
and  with  tapering  reeded  legs.  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art  169 

An  American-made  chair  from  one  of  Shera- 
ton's designs,  showing  the  typical  rectangular 
back.   Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  .    .    .  176 

A  Sheraton  secretary  or  bookcase  desk,  rich  in 
inlay  and  fitted  with  many  drawers  and 
pigeonholes.   Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  '  176 

An  inlaid  sideboard  with  knife  cases,  a  brass 
candelabrum,  and  a  tambour  front.  From 
Sheraton's  "Drawing-Book"  177 

An  example  of  the  decadent  style  of  Sheraton's 
later  years.    ["  Herculaniums,"  from  his  "  Cab- 
inet Dictionary" '  177 


CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 


CREATORS 
OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  APPLIED  ART  IN  ENGLAND 

LEARNING  for  its  own  sake,  pure  culture 
and  erudition,  are  not  held  in  as  high  esteem 
in  America  as  in  some  of  the  European  coun- 
tries. The  American  mind,  as  a  rule,  is  utilitarian 
in  type.  It  desires  to  know  why  it  learns  what  it 
learns,  to  what  use  it  may  put  its  learning.  The 
average  American  reader  demands  some  practical 
raison  d'etre  for  any  work  which  purports  to  be  a 
study  or  analysis  or  investigation  in  a  field  that 
does  not  obviously  touch  the  manifold  interests  of 
his  daily  life.    Hence  these  introductory  remarks. 

Of  late  years  Americans  have  been  taking  a  more 
general  and  studious  interest  in  that  branch  of  de- 
corative and  applied  art  which  is  chiefly  exemplified 
in  the  decoration  and  furnishing  of  their  homes. 
Popular  taste  has  been  improving.  The  American 
householder  has  begun  to  demand  something  better 
than  the  builder's  architecture  of  a  generation  ago 


4  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

and  the  ready-made  hodge-podge  which  filled  the 
homes  of  that  period.  And  in  looking  for  that  better 
thing,  we  have  begun  to  appreciate  the  fact  that 
there  are  things  worth  knowing  about  the  styles 
that  have  stood  the  test  of  time,  the  merits  of  which 
have  been  recognized  by  those  qualified  to  judge. 

The  first  step  in  this  movement,  for  it  is  a  move- 
ment, was  the  vogue  for  so-called  American  Colonial 
furniture  and  its  accompaniments  which  spread  over 
the  country  a  few  y^ears  ago  and  which  has  not  yet 
spent  its  force.  Collecting  of  the  antique  became  a 
fad,  and  manufacturers  responded  to  the  demand  by 
the  production  of  more  or  less  accurate  adaptations 
and  reproductions. 

That  vogue  served  a  good  end.  It  started  popular 
taste  in  the  right  direction,  and  we  have  now  begun 
to  look  farther  and  deeper  for  something  still  better. 
Gradually  we  have  been  getting  better  educated. 
We  have  begun  to  question  whether  even  Chippen- 
dale is  the  last  word  in  all  that  is  fine  and  desirable 
in  furniture  style.  Some  of  us  have  even  begun  to 
discard  our  highly  coloured  mahogany  for  the  softer 
walnut,  and  to-day  the  shop  windows  are  display- 
ing quite  as  many  adaptations  of  Jacobean  and 
Queen  Anne  styles  as  Colonial  or  Georgian. 

The  thing  has  come  upon  us  rather  rapidly,  and 


Dining  table  of  the  plainer  Jacobean  type.    1650-1675.  Metropolitan 

Museum  of  Art 


Small  table  of  oak  and  walnut,  Oak  gate-leg  table,  with  carved  legs 

showing    the    popular    spiral  and  supports.       Restoration  period, 

turning.     1660-1685.     Metro-  about  1OS5.      Metropolitan  Museum 

politan  Museum  of  Art  of  Art 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  APPLIED  ART  IN  ENGLAND  5 

the  time  seems  to  have  arrived  to  give  a  little  more 
thought  to  the  fundamental  truths  involved.  The 
furnishing  of  a  home  is  too  important  and  permanent 
a  matter  to  be  hurried  through  lightly.  We  need 
something  more  than  the  hasty  advice  of  a  sales 
clerk.  And  since  the  American  pocketbook  is  in- 
volved, the  average  American  will  not  fail  to  see  the 
value  of  a  sound  basis  for  discrimination. 

What  is  style?  What  is  its  significance?  What 
are  the  distinguishing  features  of  various  styles  and 
periods?  By  what  standards  shall  we  judge  of  ex- 
cellence? Is  all  this  talk  of  styles  and  periods  the 
mere  chatter  of  a  pseudo-artistic  cult,  or  does  it  in 
some  way  vitally  concern  us? 

It  is  not  because  the  average  American  is  greatly 
interested  in  so  highly  specialized  a  branch  of  history 
that  the  following  pages  have  been  written,  but  in 
order  to  give  him  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the 
subject  of  style  development  and  the  more  important 
and  fundamental  facts  that  he  needs  to  know  in  order 
to  distinguish  and  appreciate  what  is  going  on  about 
him  in  the  realm  of  home  furnishing  and  decoration. 

Style,  according  to  Webster,  is  a  mode  of  presen- 
tation in  any  of  the  fine  arts.  It  is  the  expression 
of  an  instinct,  a  feeling,  an  appreciation  of  the  beau- 
tiful which  has  changed  and  developed  with  the  alter- 


6  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

ing  tastes  of  mankind.  In  the  field  of  the  decorative 
and  applied  arts  this  feeling  finds  its  expression  in 
form,  colour,  and  ornamental  details,  based  chiefly 
on  what  has  gone  before,  showing  improvement  or 
decadence  with  the  variation  of  popular  taste,  its 
direction  changed  by  many  influences,  but  develop- 
ing naturally  and  steadily  through  the  action  of 
explanatory  causes.  To  understand  this  develop- 
ment, one  must  inquire  into  the  influences  which 
affected  it  before  one  can  fully  comprehend  its  sig- 
nificance or  become  familiar  with  its  manifestations. 

I  shall  confine  myself  to  the  development  of  style 
in  England,  because  therein  lies  our  American  heri- 
tage. Our  importations  of  style  from  France  and 
other  countries  have  usually  proved  to  be  exotic  and 
transitory;  the  English  styles  are  the  ones  that  have 
always  found  the  surest  welcome  in  English-speaking 
America.  Whether  we  recognize  them  or  not,  we  are 
living  constantly  amid  reminders  of  England's  artistic 
past,  and  a  full  appreciation  of  the  styles  that  we 
are  reviving  to-day  depends  upon  a  knowledge  of 
that  past. 

There  are  leaders  of  artistic  thought  in  America, 
particularly  in  the  Middle  West,  who  deride  all  this 
harking  back  to  a  dead  past,  who  consider  all  tradi- 
tion as  trammeling,  who  seek  rapid  progress.  But 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  APPLIED  ART  IN  ENGLAND  7 

I  do  not  believe  their  influence  to  be  firmly  grounded 
or  permanent.  There  have  always  been  men  with 
the  itch  for  novelty,  but  it  has  not  been  their  work 
that  has  survived,  but  that  of  masters  who  based 
their  creations  on  established  principles,  on  the  ex- 
perience of  their  predecessors. 

Of  architecture  I  shall  speak  in  passing  for  the 
reason  that  the  styles  of  interiors  and  their  furnish- 
ings often  followed  or  were  influenced  by  the  chang- 
ing styles  in  architecture,  or  rather,  the  same  in- 
fluences affected  both.  They  are  parallel  and  cog- 
nate arts,  and  some  of  the  leaders  in  English  style 
development  in  all  lines  were  architects. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  the  development  of 
architectural  and  decorative  style  through  succeed- 
ing periods  of  history  becomes  more  interesting  and 
more  easily  understood  when  we  turn  our  attention 
to  the  personalities  of  the  leaders  of  artistic  thought, 
their  lives  and  purposes,  their  education,  ideals,  and 
traditions.  Thus  may  we  reincarnate  the  decora- 
tive periods,  giving  them  a  human  significance  in- 
stead of  classifying  them  entirely  by  names  of  mon- 
archs  or  dynasties  or  design  types  or  mere  dates. 

Yet  it  is  not  entirely  easy  to  follow  this  plan 
through  the  history  of  period  decoration  in  England, 
for  the  lives  of  the  masters  overlapped  or  left  gaps  in 


8  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

the  continuity,  and  some  of  them  were  architects, 
while  others  were  craftsmen,  connoisseurs,  or  de- 
signers. Still,  a  fairly  continuous  line  of  artistic 
descent  may  be  traced  from  the  period  of  the  late 
Renaissance  to  the  nineteenth  century,  and  the 
lives  of  the  men  involved  are  not  without  elements 
of  human  interest. 

It  is  not  likely  that  we  shall  ever  go  back  to  the 
Gothic  or  early  Renaissance  periods  for  material  for 
our  modern  homes.  Those  periods,  while  Classic 
from  one  point  of  view,  were  in  a  measure  unformed, 
and  their  conditions  were  so  different  from  those  of 
modern  life  that  they  hold  little  of  interest  for  any 
but  the  student  and  the  connoisseur. 

And  our  study  of  personalities  must  begin  at  a 
later  date.  In  the  days  of  the  Tudor  period  or  early 
Renaissance  no  such  artistic  leader  appeared.  Henry 
VIII  was  the  patron  of  the  Renaissance,  largely 
because  of  his  anti-Papist  and  hence  anti-Gothic 
sympathies.  He  brought  several  artists,  architects, 
and  artisans  from  Italy,  including  John  of  Padua; 
but  of  John  we  know  little,  and  his  personality  was 
submerged  in  the  composite  personality  of  Henry's 
court. 

During  the  wonderfully  creative  period  of  Eliza- 
beth's reign,  when  genius  in  literature,  statecraft, 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  APPLIED  ART  IN  ENGLAND  9 

and  commerce  flourished,  the  art  impulse  was  further 
quickened,  but  it  found  its  expression  in  the  work  of 
no  single  man  of  power.  Elizabethan  architecture, 
furniture,  interior  decoration,  and  landscape  design 
are  worthy  of  our  study  as  a  starting-point,  but  not 
through  the  personality  of  a  master. 

It  was  not,  in  fact,  until  the  Jacobean  period  that 
the  real  spirit  of  the  Renaissance — a  genuine  revival 
of  Classicism — took  form  in  England,  and  the  first 
great  exponent  of  English  style,  Inigo  Jones,  lived 
and  wrought  his  work.  This  Renaissance  spirit, 
further  developed  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  followed 
by  the  architects,  craftsmen,  and  designers  of  the 
Georgian  era,  continued  alive  in  England  until  the 
dawn  of  the  last  century,  and  produced  its  men  of 
genius. 

The  history  of  the  decorative  styles  teaches  us 
clearly  that  every  lasting  and  deserving  development 
has  not  been  a  sudden  mushroom  growth,  respond- 
ing to  the  demand  for  novelty,  but  has  been  solidly 
built  upon  what  went  before.  The  Italian  Renais- 
sance was  but  a  revival  of  the  ancient  Greek  and 
Roman  Classic  at  the  hands  of  men  of  originality 
and  creative  power.  If,  as  Mr.  Frank  Alvah  Par- 
sons and  other  authorities  appear  to  believe,  we  are 
witnessing  the  birth  of  a  new  Renaissance  in  this 


10  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

twentieth  century,  it  behooves  us  to  become  familiar 
with  the  work  of  the  worthiest  of  our  predecessors 
and  the  styles  upon  which  our  modern  revivals  and 
development  are  based. 

A  study  of  the  lives  of  those  masters  of  applied 
art  who  created  and  developed  the  historic  styles 
of  England,  their  artistic  creeds,  traditions,  and 
training,  should  form,  it  seems  to  me,  the  soundest 
basis  for  a  discriminating  understanding  of  the  true 
significance  of  those  styles  upon  which  we  are  build- 
ing an  art  for  the  beautification  of  our  modern 
homes. 

Beginning,  therefore,  with  Inigo  Jones,  it  is  my 
purpose  to  consider  the  lives  and  personalities  of 
eleven  of  these  leaders  of  artistic  thought  in  England, 
tracing,  at  the  same  time,  the  contemporary  [develop- 
ment of  styles  in  the  cognate  arts. 


CHAPTER  II 


INIGO  JONES 
(1573-1652) 

IT  IS  with  Inigo  Jones,  and  not  with  the  unknown 
artists  of  the  Gothic  and  Tudor  periods,  that 
our  present  consideration  must  have  its  begin- 
ning. He  was  the  first  English  architect  whose 
name  stands  out  above  the  others,  the  first  to  reflect 
the  spirit  of  the  Renaissance  in  its  classic  purity, 
though  living  after  what  is  commonly  known  as  the 
period  of  the  Renaissance.  He  has  been  called  "the 
English  Vetruvius"  and  "the  English  Palladio."  He 
was  the  father  of  the  Classic  revival  in  English  archi- 
tecture, the  first  to  discard  Gothic  elements  entirely, 
and  when  his  background  and  traditions  are  taken 
into  consideration,  the  magnitude  of  his  achieve- 
ment becomes  apparent.  He  was  an  artistic  prophet 
who  led  a  people  into  new  paths  of  thought  and 
appreciation.  For  though  his  own  work  was  that 
of  an  architect,  his  influence  was  felt  throughout  the 
entire  field  of  decorative  and  industrial  art.  He 
was,  indeed,  a  dictator  of  style  during  the  reign  of 
Charles  I. 


12  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Before  sketching  his  career  in  detail,  it  may  be 
well  to  glance  briefly  at  the  background  and  tradi- 
tions to  which  I  have  referred. 

•  Gothic  architecture,  the  only  style  that  received 
serious  consideration,  had  passed  through  the  per- 
pendicular and  florid  stage  and  had  become  rather 
confused  by  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
so  that  architects  were  at  a  loss  which  way  to  turn 
for  leadership.  As  has  been  said,  Henry  VIII 
encouraged  the  adoption  of  Italian  Renaissance  ideas, 
though  his  influence  was  as  much  negative  as  posi- 
tive, rather  anti-Gothic  than  pro-Renaissance.  Gothic 
architecture  had  long  been  associated  with  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church,  and  the  Protestant  Henry 
was  eager  for  anything  worth  while  that  would  sup- 
plant it.  And  undoubtedly  he  did  have  consider- 
able artistic  appreciation  and  enthusiasm. 

It  was  during  Henry's  reign,  or  about  1524,  that 
Holbein  settled  in  England,  but  his  influence  on 
architecture  and  decoration  was  not  as  powerful  as 
that  of  John  of  Padua,  who  brought  the  Renais- 
sance principles  direct  from  Italy.  John  arrived 
in  England  about  1544. 

By  the  middle  of  the  century  the  restless,  up- 
reaching  spirit  of  the  Elizabethan  era  began  to 
make  itself  felt  in  architecture,  home  furnishings, 


Chimneypiece  and  wall  decorations  designed  by  Daniel  Marot 


State  bed  designed  by  Daniel  Marot 


INIGO  JONES  13 

and  gardens,  as  well  as  in  the  more  active  walks 
of  life.  It  became  an  age  of  poetic  appreciation 
and  creation,  with  an  increased  taste  for  luxury, 
comfort,  and  beauty  in  living  conditions,  and  this 
spirit  was  seeking  for  a  master  mind  to  direct  it. 

During  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  which  covered  the 
last  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Gothic  tra- 
ditions persisted,  but  the  spirit  of  the  Renaissance 
grew  ever  stronger.  More  and  more  attention  was 
paid  to  the  suitable  designing  of  houses  and  furni- 
ture. As  early  as  1575  strict  rules  of  proportion, 
lost  sight  of  in  the  elaboration  of  Gothic  details, 
had  become  a  principle  of  architecture,  and  the  Greek 
orders  were  occasionally  employed.  More  or  less 
Classic  porticoes,  cornices,  columns,  and  pilasters 
were  introduced,  and  a  new  system  of  fenestration. 
Doors,  walls,  and  ceilings  were  richly  paneled  in 
oak,  fireplaces  were  improved  and  became  a  decora- 
tive feature  of  the  interior,  and  tapestries  and  up- 
holstery came  into  more  general  use.  All  of  this 
was  paving  the  way  toward  the  Palladian  style  of 
architecture  and  the  work  of  Inigo  Jones. 

Andrea  Palladio,  of  Vicenza,  Italy,  was  born  in 
1518,  in  the  midst  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  move- 
ment. He  studied  Roman  architecture  and  pub- 
lished a  book  on  the  subject  in  1570.    He  died  in 


14  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

1580.  To  him  may  be  traced  the  influences  which 
gave  direction  to  the  work  of  Inigo  Jones  and  Sir 
Christopher  Wren,  and  even  to  the  Adam  brothers 
and  our  American  Mclntire  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. Jones  got  his  inspiration  direct  from  Pal- 
ladio  and  was  the  chief  exponent  of  the  Palladian 
style,  which  wrought  a  complete  change  in  English 
architecture  and  sounded  the  knell  of  Gothic  su- 
premacy. 

Inigo  Jones  was  born  July  15,  1573,  in  the  midst 
of  the  Golden  Age  of  Elizabeth.  His  father  was 
a  cloth  maker  of  West  Smithfield,  London,  and 
Inigo  was  probably  apprenticed  at  an  early  age  to 
a  joiner.  The  father  died  in  1597,  leaving  no  for- 
tune, and  the  boy  had  to  make  his  own  way  in  the 
world. 

He  early  showed  an  aptitude  for  drawing  and 
design  and  later  for  landscape  painting.  It  is  not 
known  where  or  how  he  acquired  his  technique, 
but  his  work  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Earl 
of  Pembroke,  who  sent  him  to  Italy  to  study  land- 
scape painting.  While  at  Venice  he  became  in- 
terested in  architecture  and  he  visited  Rome,  where 
the  ruins  fascinated  him. 

In  1604  King  Christianus  of  Denmark  sent  for 
him  and  it  is  said  that  he  designed  the  Danish  pal- 


INIGO  JONES  15 

aces  of  Rosenborg  and  Fredericksborg,  though  he 
appears  to  have  remained  in  Denmark  less  than  a 
year.  He  then  accompanied  Anne  of  Denmark  to 
the  English  Court,  where  he  became  the  protege 
of  the  Queen  and  of  Prince  Henry. 

In  1605  King  James  gave  a  court  masque — Ben 
Jonson's  44  The  Masque  of  Blackness."  This  was 
the  poet's  first  royal  employment,  and  Jones  was 
appointed  to  design  the  scenery  and  costumes  and 
to  stage  the  masque.  In  the  course  of  the  next  few 
years  he  served  in  a  similar  capacity  in  London  and 
Oxford.  In  1610  he  became  a  sort  of  stage  manager 
for  the  Queen  and  her  court  at  Whitehall  and  was 
appointed  Surveyor  of  the  Works  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales. 

Upon  the  death  of  Prince  Henry  in  1613,  Jones 
went  again  to  Italy,  where  he  made  a  special  study 
of  the  works  of  Palladio.  He  returned  to  England 
in  1615  under  the  patronage  of  the  Earls  of  Arundel 
and  Pembroke  and  was  made  Surveyor  of  the  Works 
to  the  King.  His  duties  included  the  repairing  of 
the  royal  palaces,  the  purchasing  of  art  objects,  and 
the  production  of  masques,  though  this  last  activity 
ceased  when  he  quarreled  with  Jonson. 

One  of  his  first  commissions  was  the  prepara- 
tion of  designs  for  the  remodeling  of  Westminster, 


16  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

but  these  were  never  carried  out,  though  he  did 
superintend  the  alterations  in  the  Star  Chamber. 

On  January  12,  1619,  the  Banqueting  House  at 
Whitehall  burned  down  and  Jones  was  ordered  to 
rebuild  it.  He  rose  to  the  emergency,  and  by  June 
first  the  new  plans  had  been  approved,  the  ground 
was  cleared,  and  the  corner  stone  laid.  The  new 
building,  in  the  Palladian  style,  was  completed  in 
1622. 

In  1620  he  was  commissioned  to  make  a  study 
of  the  mysterious  ruins  at  Stonehenge,  which  he 
decided  had  been  a  temple  of  the  Tuscan  order, 
built  by  the  Romans  and  consecrated  to  the  wor- 
ship of  the  god  Caelus.  In  this  theory  he  had  but 
few  followers  even  then. 

In  1618  he  commenced  work  on  the  chapel  at 
Lincoln's  Inn,  which  was  completed  in  1623.  It 
was  a  well  proportioned  structure,  bastard  Gothic 
in  style.  The  Doric  pilasters  in  the  crypt  illustrate 
the  architect's  fondness  for  everything  Roman,  and 
yet  the  edifice  was  truer  to  Gothic  traditions  than 
any  other  of  that  day. 

Other  works  of  this  period  were  the  Chapel  for 
the  Infanta  at  Somerset  House  in  the  Strand,  the 
water  gate  to  the  town  house  of  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham,  and  the  Queen's  House  at  Greenwich,  be- 


Six  chairs  designed  by  Daniel  Marot 


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INIGO  JONES  17 

gun  for  Anne,  queen  of  James  I,  and  completed  in 
1635  for  Henrietta  Maria,  queen  of  Charles  I. 
Then  he  started  on  the  restoration  of  St.  Paul's, 
completing  the  plans  and  the  west  portico. 

Jones  continued  in  office  under  Charles  I  and 
became  even  more  powerful  as  an  arbiter  of  taste. 
He  built  the  theatre  of  the  Hall  of  Barber-Surgeons 
in  Monkwell  Street,  London;  Somerset  House,  York 
House,  and  Ashburnham  House,  Westminster,  and 
designed  the  western  side  of  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields. 
Finally  he  planned  the  square  or  piazza  of  Covent 
Garden  for  the  Earl  of  Bedford,  and  a  chapel  for  the 
square,  which  was  begun  in  1631  and  finished  in  1638. 

This  was  his  last  great  work,  for  though  he  lived 
fourteen  years  longer  and  made  designs  for  both 
palaces  and  private  residences,  the  Civil  War  prac- 
tically put  an  end  to  building,  and  most  of  his 
greatest  tasks  were  never  completed.  The  fall  of 
royalty  was  a  severe  blow  to  him,  and  he  died,  an 
unhappy  man,  on  June  21,  1652. 

Inigo  Jones  took  up  his  residence  at  Scotland 
Yard  in  1615,  and  lived  there  quietly  the  rest  of 
his  life.  He  was  a  Roman  Catholic  and  he  never 
married.  He  was  never  in  perfect  health,  which 
perhaps  accounts  for  his  occasional  tendency  to 
quarrel  and  for  the  despondency  of  his  latter  years. 


18  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Besides  houses,  he  designed  cabinets,  grottoes, 
gates,  garden  fronts,  church  towers,  bridges,  and 
interiors.  In  his  portfolio  were  numerous  designs 
for  ceilings,  walls,  wainscot  panels  and  moldings, 
wall  fountains,  etc. 

Largely  on  account  of  the  war  he  left  no  school 
of  design,  though  one  loyal  follower,  John  Webb, 
kept  the  Palladian  traditions  alive  until  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren  took  up  the  work  where  Jones  had  left 
it. 

The  Palladian  style  of  Inigo  Jones  was  a  form  of 
Italian  Renaissance  based  on  the  Roman  and  Greek, 
as  opposed  to  the  Gothic.  He  wrought  the  eman- 
cipation of  English  ideas  from  Gothic  traditions  and 
turned  the  attention  of  architects  and  designers  to 
the  fundamental  principles  of  proportion.  His  style 
was  perhaps  weighed  down  too  much  by  Roman 
heaviness,  especially  his  mantels  and  doors,  but  he 
led  the  way  to  better  things.  He  introduced  Greek 
columns,  pediments,  and  capitals,  and  his  interiors 
abounded  in  fluted  columns  and  pilasters  and  the 
lavish  use  of  oak. 

Inigo  Jones  was  undoubtedly  born  with  an  eye 
for  proportion,  as,  I  think,  was  Stanford  White, 
and  that  means  genius  in  architecture.  He  was  more 
careful  than  any  of  his  predecessors  of  measured 


INIGO  JONES  19 

working  drawings,  and  for  the  first  time  everything, 
including  details,  was  drawn  to  scale. 

Inigo  Jones  was  a  pioneer  in  English  decorative 
art,  but  the  work  of  those  who  followed  him  was 
required  to  complete  the  artistic  revolution  which 
he  began. 

In  furniture  design  it  is  not  altogether  easy  to 
trace  the  influence  of  Inigo  Jones,  for  there  was  no 
equivalent  to  the  Palladian  style  in  Jacobean  furni- 
ture. Still,  there  was  a  constant  improvement  in 
taste  in  all  the  artistic  development  of  the  period, 
with  a  cordial  reception  of  foreign  influences,  and 
Jones  undoubtedly  was  largely  responsible  for  this. 

The  tapestry  manufactory  at  Mortlake,  founded 
in  1619  in  imitation  of  the  Gobelin  works  in  France, 

1 

was  one  of  the  most  important  decorative  enterprises 
of  the  early  Jacobean  period,  and  the  general  de- 
mand was  for  better  home  furnishings.  Sir  Henry 
Wotton,  British  ambassador  to  Venice  in  1604,  sent 
home  some  specimens  of  Italian  wood  carving  and 
published  his  "Elements  of  Architecture."  Sir  Wal- 
ter Raleigh  sent  for  Flemish  workmen  to  carve  an 
elaborate  oak  chimneypiece  in  Youghal,  Ireland. 
These  and  similar  instances  were  indications  of  a 
popular  trend  toward  something  different  and  better. 
Jacobean  furniture  design  and  architecture  were 


Sir  Christopher  Wren,  after  the  portrait  painted  by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller. 
Owned  by  the  Royal  Society 


INIGO  JONES  21 

carved,  and  cupboards,  the  ancestors  of  the  modern 
sideboard. 

The  term  Jacobean  or  Stuart  is  rather  loosely 
given  to  the  greater  part  of  the  century,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  James  I  in  1603  to  the  end 
of  James  IPs  reign  in  1689.  But  since  this  interval 
included  two  distinct  periods  of  style  development, 
it  seems  logical  to  divide  it  into  the  Jacobean  period, 
comprising  the  reigns  of  James  I  and  Charles  I 
(1603-1649),  and  the  Restoration  period,  including 
the  reigns  of  Charles  II  and  James  II  (1660-1689), 
with  the  unproductive  Commonwealth  or  Crom- 
wellian  period  intervening  between  the  two. 

Gradually  furniture  design  emerged  from  the 
crudities  and  limitations  of  the  Gothic,  though  re- 
taining some  of  the  Gothic  traditions  of  sturdiness 
and  virility.  Eventually  the  Jacobean  period  saw 
the  triumph  of  those  foreign  influences  which  began 
to  be  felt  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 

At  first,  under  James  I,  the  styles  continued  in  a 
transition  state,  Tudor  in  feeling,  reflecting  the  in- 
fluence of  the  preceding  century.  Renaissance  de- 
tails were  added,  producing  furniture  rather  more 
formal  and  less  original.  Designs  became  flatter 
and  the  treatment  of  floral  ornament  more  stiff  and 
conventional,  the  ornaments  being  often  applied. 


22  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

The  Tudor  style  died  hard,  but  at  length  the 
Renaissance  influence  became  dominant.  Growing 
political  and  commercial  intercourse  with  the  Low 
Countries  had  its  effect,  Dutch  and  Flemish  arts 
were  introduced,  and  also  the  styles  of  France  under 
Louis  XIII  and  Louis  XIV. 

Most  of  the  Jacobean  furniture  was  rectangular  in 
form  and  heavily  underbraced,  the  legs  of  chairs 
and  tables  perpendicular,  chair  backs  straight  and 
seats  flat.  But  though  the  forms  were  severe,  the 
decoration  was  noteworthy,  chiefly  flat  surface  orna- 
ment and  carving  in  low  relief.  The  most  prominent 
details  were  strap-work;  half  balusters,  spindles,  and 
drops;  a  running  pattern  of  contiguous  or  overlapping 
circles  or  figure  eights;  semi-circles  filled  with  petals; 
carved  jewels  and  bosses;  geometrical  arrangements 
of  panels,  such  as  the  lozenge  within  a  square  or 
rectangle;  the  rounded  arch,  and  more  or  less  elab- 
orate double  scrolls.  Mouldings  and  panels  were 
much  employed.  The  spiral  form  was  often  used 
in  chair  legs,  cupboards,  and  chests  of  drawers,  not 
turned  on  a  lathe,  but  laboriously  carved  out  by 
hand.  A  favourite  ornament  for  table  legs,  posts  of 
bedsteads,  and  the  supports  of  cupboards  and  cabi- 
nets, was  the  swelling  bulb,  usually  carved,  a  sur- 
vival of  the  Tudor  period. 


INIGO  JONES  23 

As  the  period  progressed,  the  strap-work  became 
more  and  more  intricate,  and  some  of  the  finer 
pieces  of  furniture  were  inlaid  with  holly  and  other 
light  woods.  Carved  figures  were  gradually  sup- 
planted by  turned  supports  and  uprights,  and  flat 
surfaces  were  more  completely  covered  with  geo- 
metrical panels  and  decorated  with  applied  orna- 
ment in  real  or  imitation  ebony. 

Oak  was  the  universal  furniture  material  of  the 
Jacobean  period,  but  toward  the  end  exotic  woods 
began  to  be  imported  into  England  and  the  Low 
Countries.  Where  marquetry  had  hitherto  been 
chiefly  in  ebony  and  ivory,  Brazilian  kingwood  and 
other  highly  coloured  woods  began  to  be  used  for 
inlay,  and  furniture  was  made  occasionally  in  wal- 
nut, cedar,  pear  wood,  etc.,  as  well  as  in  oak. 

The  most  prominent  pieces  of  furniture  of  the 
period  were  chairs,  tables,  chests,  and  cupboards, 
heavy  in  form  and  carpenter-made,  but  beauti- 
fully carved  in  sharp,  low  relief  on  their  broad  sur- 
faces. 

Chairs  were  less  common  at  first  than  joint-stools, 
forms,  and  benches.  The  chairs  were  of  the  wainscot 
type,  more  or  less  carved,  or  else  plain  turned 
chairs  with  three  or  four  legs.  Then  more  elaborate 
turning  was  introduced  and  lighter  forms  of  the 


24  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

wainscot  chair.  One  type  had  no  solid  panel  in 
the  back,  but  two  or  three  open  arches.  During 
the  reign  of  Charles  I  twisted,  spiral,  and  turned 
work  became  more  common  on  the  chairs,  indicating 
Dutch  influence,  and  a  French  chair  was  introduced, 
lighter  than  the  wainscot,  with  turned  legs  and  back 
and  seat  of  leather  or  embroidered  fabric. 

The  typical  table  was  a  heavy,  rectangular  affair 
of  oak,  though  not  so  cumbersome  as  the  Elizabethan 
table,  with  bulb-turned  supports  and  often  rails 
carved  in  arabesques  or  lunette  patterns.  Less 
common  was  a  lighter,  smaller  table,  wTith  a  single 
hinged  leaf  and  a  swinging  leg  to  support  it — the 
forerunner  of  the  gate-leg  table  which  was  not  fully 
developed  until  the  period  of  the  Restoration. 

Oak  chests  and  cupboards  were  common,  the 
latter,  prototype  of  the  sideboard,  being  perhaps  the 
most  truly  typical  piece  of  furniture  of  the  period. 
The  earlier  ones  were  chest-like,  but  they  soon  took 
the  form  of  a  raised  dresser.  Two  types  were  de- 
veloped—the press  cupboard  and  the  court  cupboard. 
The  former  was  closed  in  front,  and  the  latter  open 
below — a  sort  of  chest  on  spiral,  turned,  or  carved 
supports.  Most  of  these  cupboards  were  richly 
carved  and  paneled.  Toward  the  close  of  the  period 
the  chest  of  drawers  appeared. 


INIGO  JONES  25 

Such,  then,  was  the  furniture  of  the  period  of 
Inigo  Jones — still  heavy  in  form,  but  showing  a 
vitality  in  style  that  we  have  lately  begun  to  appre- 
ciate, and  leading  up  to  the  more  elegant  creations 
of  the  period  of  the  Restoration. 


CHAPTER  III 

DANIEL  MAROT 
{Circa  1661-1720) 

WHILE  Sir  Christopher  Wren  was  the  im- 
mediate successor  of  Inigo  Jones,  and  the 
mantle  of  the  master  of  English  archi- 
tecture fell  upon  him,  his  ripest  work  was  not  done 
until  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  and  meanwhile  the 
period  of  the  Restoration  and  the  Dutch  invasion 
had  added  their  part  to  the  development  of  Eng- 
lish style.  And  since  the  Anglo-Dutch  period  had 
its  own  man  of  genius,  a  contemporary  of  Wren 
and  Gibbons,  it  seems  logical  to  introduce  him  at  this 
stage  in  our  history,  though  he  was  not  an  English- 
man, nor,  strictly  speaking,  in  the  direct  line  of 
English  artistic  succession.  I  refer  to  that  remark- 
able French  designer,  Daniel  Marot. 

Marot  himself  produced  less  effect,  perhaps,  on 
English  styles  than  did  some  of  the  other  masters 
whom  we  shall  discuss,  though  a  clever  designer  of 
notable  work;  he  was  rather  the  most  prominent 
figure  in  a  period  of  style  development  which  had 
a  profound  influence  on  subsequent  periods.  He 

26 


DANIEL  MAROT  27 

typified  the  swing  of  British  taste  away  from  pro- 
vincialism and  toward  greater  luxury  and  ornate- 
ness. 

As  Inigo  Jones  was  rounding  out  an  honourable 
career,  the  revolution  took  place  which  resulted  in 
the  establishment  of  the  Commonwealth  under 
Cromwell.  For  ten  years  artistic  development  in 
England  was  at  a  standstill.  We  sometimes  hear 
of  the  Cromwellian  style,  but  it  was  rather  an 
austere  lack  of  style.  The  period  of  the  Common- 
wealth was  a  passing  phase  of  restriction. 

With  the  accession  of  Charles  II  to  the  English 
throne  in  1660,  a  decided  reaction  took  place.  The 
traditions  of  both  the  Jacobean  period  and  the 
Cromwellian  era  were  largely  forgotten  so  far  as 
furniture  and  decoration  were  concerned,  though 
in  architecture  Wren  soon  took  up  the  work  of  the 
Palladians  where  Jones  left  off.  Levity  and  gaiety 
became  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  life  of  the 
English  court,  and  this  was  reflected  in  the  homes 
of  the  people.  Walnut  replaced  English  oak  as  the 
popular  furniture  wood,  and  a  much  greater  ornate- 
ness  and  freedom  of  line  became  the  rule  in  furniture 
design,  with  much  carved  scroll  work,  luxurious  up- 
holstery, and  the  increasing  popularity  of  inlay. 

The  interregnum  of  the  Commonwealth  was  bar- 


28  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

ren  of  artistic  production.  A  severe,  undecorative 
type  of  furniture,  including  a  development  of  the 
wainscot  chair  with  leather  seat  and  back,  was  in 
favour  with  the  Roundheads,  and  has  been  unde- 
servedly dignified  with  the  name  of  Cromwellian  style. 

With  the  return  of  Charles  II  to  the  throne  in 
1660,  a  reaction  became  immediately  evident,  and  a 
taste  for  greater  comfort,  refinement  of  ornament, 
and  elegance  of  form.    Louis  XIV  was  King  of  1 
France  from  1643  to  1715,  covering  the  reigns  of 
Charles  II,  James  II,  William  and  Mary,  and  Anne. : 
Charles  II  brought  back  with  him  the  manners  and 
tastes  of  France,  Dutch  and  French  importations  : 
became  the  vogue,  and  the  Louis  XIV  influence  was 
dominant  in  England  for  years.    Dutch  and  Flem- 
ish workmen  were  introduced  and  the  Continental 
spirit  prevailed. 

In  the  form  and  ornament  of  furniture  of  the 
period  we  can  trace  the  French  influence,  with  a 
tendency  toward  lighter,  more  graceful  effects.  The 
architectural  note  in  furniture  disappeared  almost 
entirely.  Italian,  Spanish,  and  Flemish  details  are 
to  be  discovered  in  the  English  style. 

Turned  work  and  spirals  were  used  on  chair  and 
table  legs.  A  higher  relief  ornament  of  Baroque 
curves,  twisted  and  reversed,  supplanted  the  straight 


The  west  prospect  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  as  designed  by  Wren.    Begun  in 
1672,  finished  in  1 710.    From  an  old  print 


Wall  panels,  door,  and  chimneypiece  from  a  mansion  of  the  period  of 
Sir  Christopher  Wren,  with  carving  showing  the  influence  of  Grinling 
Gibbons.    Now  in  the  possession  of  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 


DANIEL  MAROT  29 

lines,  simple  curves,  and  low  relief  ornament  of  the 
Jacobean  period.  Inlay  was  indulged  in  more  freely, 
and  pierced  carving  and  cut  work  of  scrolls  and 
double  scrolls,  etc.,  on  the  backs,  legs,  and  under- 
braces  of  chairs.  The  tulip  and  other  foreign  design 
details  appeared  in  the  carving,  and  a  peculiar  hook- 
like Flemish  double  scroll  on  the  legs  of  chairs  and 
tables,  the  forerunner  of  the  cabriole  leg. 

Walnut  at  once  began  to  be  more  popular  than 
oak,  and  by  the  end  of  Charles  IFs  reign  was  the 
fashionable  cabinet  wood.  Oak,  however,  was  still 
used  for  wainscoting  and  cedar  for  doors,  and  pine 
occasionally  for  purposes  of  painting  or  gilding. 

About  1675  clocks  and  small  tables  began  to  be 
decorated  with  marquetry,  and  inlay  of  lignum  vitae, 
amboyna,  rosewood,  sycamore,  ebony,  ivory,  mother- 
of-pearl,  and  other  materials  increased  in  popularity. 
At  first  the  designs  were  largely  the  acanthus,  foli- 
age, scroll-work,  etc.,  of  Italian  inspiration,  used  in 
the  Dutch  method. 

Cane  panels  and  insets  became  popular  for  the 
seats  and  backs  of  chairs,  as  well  as  upholstery. 
Cane  furniture  was  received  by  Holland  from  Spain 
and  Italy,  and  was  introduced  into  England.  Expen- 
sive textiles  and  embroideries  became  more  common 
in  upholstery. 


30  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

The  typical  chairs  of  the  period  were  a  distinct 
innovation.  They  were  of  beech  or  walnut,  with 
high,  narrow  backs.  Seats  and  backs  were  of  cane, 
upholstery,  or  tooled  leather.  They  were  often  sur- 
mounted with  a  crown  or  Tudor  rose,  and  the  carved 
and  pierced  scroll-work  of  the  cresting,  sides  of  the 
back,  and  underbraces  showed  unmistakable  evi- 
dences of  foreign  influence.  In  general,  there  were 
two  types,  Flemish  and  Spanish.  The  former  had  a 
cane  panel  in  the  back  with  a  carved  border  of  scroll- 
work, supported  by  turned  or  twisted  uprights.  The 
legs  were  usually  roughly  S-shaped,  with  the  Flemish 
scroll  foot  and  a  broad  scroll-work  underbrace  in 
front.  The  Spanish  type  had  a  solid  back  of  cane 
or  tooled  leather,  turned  legs,  and  the  flaring  Spanish 
foot. 

Table  legs  became  slenderer  and  more  elaborately 
turned.  Long  oak  dining-tables,  with  turned  legs 
and  carved  aprons,  gave  place  to  walnut  dining- 
tables  with  two  leaves.  The  most  noteworthy  in- 
novation of  the  period,  however,  was  the  gate-leg 
table,  which  had  just  begun  to  make  its  appearance 
during  the  reign  of  Charles  I  and  which  owed  its 
introduction  largely  to  the  need  for  a  small,  light 
table  to  serve  the  growing  vogue  of  tea,  coffee,  and 

;oa  drinking  and  card  playing.    It  had  a  round, 


DANIEL  MAROT  31 

oval,  square,  or  oblong  top,  with  two  hinged  leaves 
supported  on  legs  which  pulled  forward  like  gates. 
Eight  or  more  turned  legs  and  supports  were  its 
noticeable  feature,  and  when  closed  it  was  narrow 
and  occupied  small  space. 

Ordinary  chests  gradually  gave  place  to  chests 
of  drawers  and  cupboards  with  drawers.  These, 
together  with  cabinets,  clock  cases,  etc.,  were  often 
elaborately  inlaid.  The  beds,  however,  continued 
to  be  large  and  heavy,  with  clumsy  testers  and 
stuffy  hangings. 

In  1685  the  persecution  of  Protestants  in  France 
and  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  by  Louis 
XIV  sent  many  refugees  into  England.  Among 
them  were  skilled  designers  and  workmen  who 
brought  their  styles  with  them,  so  that  the  English 
furniture  of  the  time  of  James  II  was  noticeably 
Louis  XIV  in  character. 

When  James  departed  in  1689,  leaving  the  Eng- 
lish throne  to  Mary  and  her  royal  consort,  styles 
underwent  a  subtle  change.  The  Dutch  William 
imported  Dutch  workmen  who  added  to  the  style 
of  the  previous  reign  a  touch  of  what  had  been  the 
Dutch  development  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  and 
the  later  French  styles.  The  chairs,  for  example, 
while  still  showing  a  general  similarity  of  line  to 


32  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

those  of  Charles  II,  became  somewhat  heavier. 
The  predominating  type  had  turned  or  carved  legs, 
with  curved,  crossed  stretchers,  and  carved,  uphol- 
stered, or  cane  backs.  The  Spanish  and  Flemish 
feet  vanished. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Daniel  Marot  came  to  do 
his  work  in  England. 

To  begin  with,  Marot  had  every  advantage  of 
training  and  tradition.  He  lived  and  learned  dur- 
ing the  progressive  artistic  period  of  Louis  XIV 
and  was  associated  with  the  artistic  leaders  of  his 
day. 

He  came  from  a  family  of  craftsmen  and  de- 
signers. His  grandfather,  Girard  Marot,  was  a 
skillful  and  successful  cabinet-maker.  His  father, 
Jean  Marot,  who  was  born  about  1620,  became  an 
architect  of  considerable  importance  in  Paris,  and 
also  a  clever  engraver. 

Daniel  was  born  in  Paris  in  1661.  (The  date  is 
doubtful;  some  biographers  have  placed  it  as  early 
as  1650).  He  probably  worked  for  his  father  for 
some  years,  and  learned  from  him  the  arts  of  design- 
ing and  engraving.  But  Daniel  had  a  more  fertile 
and  versatile  mind  than  his  father,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  he  was  seeking  greater  scope  for  his 
activities.    He  caught  the  spirit  of  the  Louis  XIV 


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DANIEL  MAROT  33 

style,  with  all  its  baroque  luxuriance,  and  by  1680 
he  had  become  one  of  the  leading  designers  of  the 
day. 

Le  Brun  was  at  this  time  engaged  in  his  tapestry 
works  and  was  drawing  on  the  best  artistic  tal- 
ent in  the  land.  He  made  use  of  Marot's  skill,  as, 
well  as  that  of  Jean  de  Pautre,  Andre  Charles  Boulle, 
and  others  of  less  prominence.  From  these  two 
masters  particularly  young  Daniel  learned  much. 
He  is  known  to  have  done  considerable  work  for 
Boulle,  especially  the  designing  of  bracket  clocks 
in  a  style  which  we  find  echoed  by  Chippendale 
later. 

But  the  Marots  were  Huguenots,  and  in  1685 
they  fled  from  France  with  their  fellow  Protestants. 
Daniel,  like  many  others,  went  first  to  Holland,  and 
there  he  found  a  ready  welcome.  For  his  fame  had 
spread  across  the  border,  and  William,  the  Stadt- 
holder  of  Orange,  with  all  his  peculiarities,  was  a 
man  with  a  ripe  appreciation  for  artistic  excellence. 
William  commanded  his  services  at  once,  and  Marot 
designed  and  installed  new  decorations  for  the 
palace  at  Loo,  near  Zutphen.  Later  he  designed  the 
interiors  in  the  Chateau  de  Voorst. 

This  work  was  all  in  the  French  manner  of  the 
period,  but  the  Dutch  environment  no  doubt  had 


34  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

an  influence  on  Marot  and  his  style  was  modified 
thereby. 

When  the  Stadtholder  became  William  III  of 
England,  in  1689,  he  sent  for  Marot.  The  records 
are  not  very  clear  or  uniform  on  this  point,  but  it 
is  believed  that  Marot  went  to  England  in  1689, 
and  became  royal  architect  and  Master  of  the  Works. 
This  position  must  have  given  him  greater  power 
over  the  trend  of  artistic  taste  in  England  than  he 
has  generally  been  credited  with.  Of  his  architec- 
tural achievements,  little  is  known;  no  English 
building  of  note  has  been  attributed  to  him.  His 
work  was  chiefly  in  the  designing  of  interiors  and 
furniture,  and  though  little  remains  to  which  his 
name  can  with  certainty  be  attached,  he  left  his 
mark  on  the  styles  of  the  period. 

His  principal  known  work  was  the  adornment  of 
Hampton  Court  Palace.  No  doubt  he  worked  with 
Wren  in  the  construction  of  the  new  wing,  and  he 
designed  most  of  the  new  furniture  which  William 
caused  to  be  placed  in  Hampton  Court  and  Wind- 
sor Castle.  He  probably  designed  the  great  bed  of 
state,  and  other  beds,  chairs,  mirrors,  etc.,  were 
built  to  his  design  for  the  royal  palaces.  It  is 
likely,  too,  that  he  designed  decorations  and  furni- 
ture for  other  mansions  and  palaces  in  the  realm. 


DANIEL  MAROT  35 

In  1698  he  redesigned  some  of  the  gardens  at  Hamp- 
ton Court. 

The  date  of  Marot's  death  is  not  definitely  known. 
He  was  still  alive  in  1718,  and  it  is  thought  that 
he  died  in  England  shortly  after  that.  No  por- 
trait of  him  has  been  left  to  us,  and  we  do  not  know 
what  sort  of  man  he  was.  But  we  do  know  some- 
thing of  his  style.  If  he  was  not  a  man  of  genius, 
he  was  at  least  highly  gifted. 

Fortunately,  Marot  was  an  engraver  as  well  as 
a  designer,  and  many  of  his  designs,  in  France  and 
later,  were  engraved  on  copper  and  printed  for  the 
use  of  cabinet-makers  and  manufacturers.  A  num- 
ber of  these  plates  were  brought  together  in  1712 
at  Amsterdam  and  printed  in  a  book  called  "Oeuvre 
da  Sieur  D.  Marot,  Architecte  de  Guillaume  III, 
Roy  de  la  Grand  Bretagne."  Later  another  book  of 
engravings  appeared,  entitled  "Nouveau  Livre 
d?  Ornaments  pour  UUtilitee  des  Sculptures,  etc.  D. 
Marot,  Architecte  de  Guillaume  III,  Roy  (f  Angle- 
terre,  etc.'9  While  in  Holland  he  published  six  plates 
of  ironwork  designs.  " Das  Ornamentwerk  des  Daniel 
Marot"  was  published  in  Berlin  in  1892,  from  old 
plates. 

These  designs  show  a  large,  powerful,  if  elabo- 
rate style,  bearing  the  earmarks  of  Louis  XIV. 


36  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Marot's  work,  like  Boulle's,  was  sumptuous,  even 
extravagant.  His  scope  was  broad,  his  pencil  facile 
and  clever. 

His  interiors  were  often  rich  and  harmonious,  if 
somewhat  over-elaborate.  He  designed  fireplaces, 
chimneypieces,  and  panels  for  walls  and  ceilings. 
His  designs  for  carvings  included  mouldings,  cupids, 
and  swags  or  festoons  that  suggest  Gibbons's  later 
work.  He  designed  all  sorts  of  furniture,  girandoles, 
wall  brackets,  decorative  sculpture,  fountains,  monu- 
ments, picture  and  mirror  frames,  garden  vases, 
garden  plans,  ironwork,  and  state  coaches.  His 
textile  designs  were  also  noteworthy,  and  included 
embroidery,  petit  point,  velours  patterns,  etc.  He 
was,  moreover,  a  prolific  designer  of  gold  and  silver 
plate,  including  tea  urns  and  cream  jugs. 

His  chairs  were  heavy,  elaborate  affairs,  suggest- 
ing at  once  Charles  II,  Louis  XIV,  and  Dutch  in- 
fluences. His  state  beds  were  huge,  with  mag- 
nificent carved  headboards,  often  capped  with  plumes 
and  with  voluminous  draperies  of  silk  or  velvet.  He 
also  designed  the  remarkable  silver-plated  furniture 
for  which  the  monarch  showed  a  strange  preference. 

Finally,  he  was  a  designer  of  clocks  and  watches, 
the  tall-case  or  grandfather  clock  owing  its  develop- 
ment in  a  large  measure  to  him. 


Grinling  Gibbons,  after  the  portrait  by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller 


Overmantel  from  Holme  Lacy,  carved  in  oak  by  Grinling 
Gibbons,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art,  New  York 


DANIEL  MAROT  37 

One  of  Marot's  design  motifs,  which  he  did  not 
learn  from  Boulle,  was  a  head  or  pictorial  subject, 
often  carved,  inserted  in  medallion  form  in  a  heavy 
framework  of  ornament.  In  some  of  his  pieces 
inlay  took  the  form  of  geometrical,  floral,  and  ani- 
mal patterns,  combined  with  marquetry  in  warmly 
tinted  exotic  woods,  all  marked  by  an  unsurpassed 
degree  of  excellence  in  workmanship. 

The  furniture  styles  of  the  William  and  Mary 
period  deserve  to  be  better  known.  They  have  com- 
monly been  confused  with  the  styles  of  the  Restora- 
tion on  the  one  hand  and  of  Queen  Anne  on  the  other, 
though  they  are  distinct  from  either.  The  confusion 
of  William  and  Mary  furniture  with  that  of  Louis 
XIV  is  more  natural,  since  the  resemblance  is  greater. 
However,  there  is  already  to  be  observed  a  tendency 
among  modern  designers  of  reproductions  to  popu- 
larize the  William  and  Mary  style,  and  we  are  likely 
soon  to  value  it  more  highly. 

The  furniture  of  this  period  was  perhaps  better 
suited  to  domestic  uses  than  any  that  preceded  it, 
though  the  Queen  Anne  furniture  surpassed  it  in 
this  respect.  The  demand  for  greater  comfort  con- 
tinued, as  well  as  the  demand  for  tasteful  ornament. 

William's  nationality,  the  close  commercial  rela- 
tions with  Holland,  the  importation  of  Dutch  work- 


38  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

men,  and  the  influence  of  Daniel  Marot  were  all 
factors  in  the  style  development  of  the  period.  The 
popularity  of  Flemish  features  gave  way  presently 
to  the  Dutch  and  Huguenot  influence,  and  William 
and  Mary  furniture  is,  at  bottom,  Louis  XIV  in 
style.  And  the  Louis  XIV  style,  it  should  be  re- 
membered, was  based  on  the  Italian. 

Marot's  designs,  though  somewhat  more  elaborate 
and  florid  than  most  others,  were  fairly  typical  of 
the  period.  They  show  considerable  carving,  but 
this  gradually  gave  place  to  inlay,  especially  on  the 
flat  surfaces  of  cabinets,  chests  of  drawers,  etc. 
Turning  continued  in  vogue,  and  japanning  became 
popular. 

During  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary  the  age  of 
walnut  was  at  its  height,  though  walnut  continued 
to  be  the  fashionable  cabinet  wood  until  it  was 
superseded  by  mahogany  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
Marquetry  of  the  Dutch  type  was  most  popular 
from  about  1675  to  1700,  and  elaborate  inlay  work 
was  done  on  oak,  walnut,  chestnut,  and  beech  in 
various  exotic  woods  and  other  materials.  The 
designs  were  largely  realistic  foliage  and  flowers  in 
the  Dutch  style,  giving  place  later  to  intricate  scrolls. 

One  of  the  most  noteworthy  developments  of  the 
period  was  the  high  chest  of  drawers,  which  became 


DANIEL  MAROT  39 

known  in  Queen  Anne's  day  as  the  highboy  (French 
haut-bois).  At  first  this  was  comparatively  small 
and  stood  on  short  bracket  or  ball  feet.  Later  the 
drawers  were  mounted  on  six  legs,  usually  orna- 
mented with  a  bulbous  or  cup-shaped  form  in  the 
turning,  fixed  to  a  shallow  plinth,  or  joined  near  the 
floor  by  a  curving  underframe.  It  was  capped  by  a 
straight  cornice  and  was  frequently  embellished 
with  marquetry  of  the  Italian  or  Dutch  type.  It 
was  usually  made  in  two  sections,  an  upper  and  a 
lower,  for  ease  in  moving.  There  was  also  a  Dutch 
type  of  desk,  similar  to  the  later  secretary. 

The  chairs  followed  the  Continental  lead  in  form 
and  ornament.  The  transition  was  gradual  from 
the  Spanish-Flemish  type  to  the  Dutch  adaptation 
of  Louis  XIV.  The  legs  of  chairs  and  tables  often 
showed  the  cup-shaped  turning,  with  the  waving 
line  in  the  underbracing.  Cane  and  upholstery  con- 
tinued in  use  in  the  chairs,  but  solid  backs  of  cane  took 
the  place  of  the  narrow  panels  of  the  Restoration. 

In  the  following  reign  of  Queen  Anne  (1702-1714) 
furniture  styles  underwent  a  further  change,  and 
Marot's  influence  appears  to  have  waned.  A  dis- 
cussion of  the  styles  of  this  period  will  be  reserved 
for  another  chapter. 

Marot's  style  was  marked  by  an  elaboration  of 


40  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

detail  which  was  also  noticeable  in  a  few  other 
decorative  lines  during  the  last  decade  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Jean  Tijou's  book  of  designs  for 
wrought  ironwork,  published  in  1693,  shows  some- 
thing of  this.  So  do  the  wood  carvings  of  Grinling 
Gibbons.  There  was  a  noticeable  artistic  kinship 
among  these  men. 

Meanwhile,  architecture  had  been  following  a 
development  of  its  own,  strongly  influenced  by  the 
French,  but  nevertheless  a  true  development  of 
the  Palladian  treatment  of  Inigo  Jones.  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren  had  been  doing  his  earlier  work  in  this 
period,  and  the  achievements  of  that  remarkable 
man  will  be  made  the  subject  for  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IV 


SIR  CHRISTOPHER  WREN 

(1632-1723) 

THE  work  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  mathema- 
tician, scientist,  and  architect,  a  man  of  ex- 
traordinary powers,  marks,  in  many  respects, 
the  climax  of  Classic  style  development  in  England. 
As  I  have  before  pointed  out,  the  period  of  the  so- 
called  English  Renaissance  fell  in  the  first  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  when  the  influence  of  Henry 
VIII  and  John  of  Padua  were  paramount.  But  the 
real  Renaissance,  slow  to  mature,  came  to  its  own  in 
England  nearly  two  hundred  years  later,  when  Sir 
Christopher  Wren,  following  the  pioneer  work  of 
Inigo  Jones,  developed  that  form  of  Classicism  which 
is  largely  Renaissance  in  spirit,  but  which  is  usually 
termed  Early  Georgian  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
later  Classic  renderings  of  Adam  and  Chambers. 
The  term  is  somewhat  of  a  misnomer,  however, 
since  Wren  was  at  the  height  of  his  power  before 
the  reign  of  George  I. 

Wren  was  England's  greatest  architect.  That  was 
partly  because  of  his  genius,  partly  because  of  the 


42  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

unusual  opportunities  that  fell  to  his  lot.  He  was, 
moreover,  the  chief  conservator  of  England's  highest 
artistic  traditions.  Of  all  the  masters  of  architecture 
and  applied  art  in  England,  his  achievements  were 
the  most  noteworthy,  his  influence  the  most  lasting, 
his  figure  looms  largest. 

Christopher  Wren  was  born  in  Knowle,  Wiltshire, 
October  20,  1632.  He  was  a  son  of  Dr.  Christopher 
Wren,  a  noted  mathematician  and  fellow  of  St. 
John's  College,  Oxford,  and  a  nephew  of  the  Bishop 
of  Ely. 

He  was  an  uncommonly  precocious  boy,  and  as 
early  as  1644  he  was  described  by  Evelyn  as  "that 
miracle  of  a  youth."  He  entered  Oxford  University 
when  about  fourteen  years  of  age  and  promptly  dis- 
tinguished himself  for  his  unusual  ability  in  mathe- 
matics. Incidentally,  he  dabbled  a  bit  in  poetry. 
In  1652  he  received  the  Master  of  Arts  degree  for  his 
work  in  mathematics  and  was  made  a  fellow  of 
All  Soul's  College. 

He  then  became  interested  in  astronomy,  and  in 
1657  was  made  Professor  of  Astronomy  at  Gresham. 
In  1661  he  became  Savilian  Professor  of  Astronomy 
at  Oxford.  In  1663  he  was  elected  a  fellow  of  the 
Royal  Society,  and  contributed  many  learned  trea- 
tises.   He  also  produced,  about  this  time,  a  num- 


SIR  CHRISTOPHER  WREN  43 

ber  of  important  inventions  and  discoveries  in  the 
field  of  mechanics. 

Architecture,  however,  was  to  become  Wren's 
great  work  in  life,  and  all  this  time  he  had  been 
studying  that  subject  and  gaining  skill  in  drawing. 
Even  during  the  period  of  the  Commonwealth,  when 
building  and  architectural  development  were  at 
a  standstill,  and  furniture  reverted  to  a  styleless 
type,  Wren  had  been  studying  both  current  tastes 
and  historic  architecture. 

His  first  architectural  work  of  significance  was 
the  chapel  of  Pembroke  College,  Cambridge,  a  com- 
mission which  he  obtained  through  the  influence  of 
his  uncle,  Bishop  Matthew  Wren.  This  was  com- 
pleted and  dedicated  in  1665.  This  and  other  work 
attracted  attention.  Following  the  tradition  of  Inigo 
Jones,  Wren  sought  to  produce  beauty  through 
proportion  rather  than  ornament.  In  this  he  was 
so  successful  that  in  1661  he  was  introduced  to 
Charles  II,  probably  by  Evelyn. 

Jones  and  Webb  were  dead  and  Sir  John  Denham, 
Surveyor  of  the  Works,  was  not  their  equal  in  ability. 
The  king,  therefore,  engaged  Wren  to  assist  Denham 
in  the  completion  of  the  palace  at  Greenwich.  Work- 
ing under  Denham,  Wren  had  an  opportunity  to 
study  the  work  of  Inigo  Jones.    The  Puritans  had 


SIR  CHRISTOPHER  WREN  45 

To  give  a  list  of  Wren's  London  buildings  in  their 
chronological  order  is  impossible,  for  their  number 
was  great  and  work  on  the  various  ones  overlapped. 
Between  1668  and  1718  he  designed  or  built  at  least 
fifty-five  churches  and  a  dozen  important  public 
buildings.  There  were  theatres,  palaces,  hospitals, 
public  halls,  and  private  mansions  too  numerous  to 
mention  in  detail.  One  of  his  biographers,  James 
Elmes,  gives  a  list  of  132  notable  works. 

Unfortunately,  a  number  of  Wren's  churches  have 
since  been  destroyed  or  have  been  hopelessly  altered, 
but  enough  of  his  work  remains  to  give  a  fairly 
clear  idea  of  the  volume  and  dignity  of  it.  Per- 
haps the  most  famous  of  his  London  buildings  were 
the  Church  of  St.  Stephen  in  Walbrooke,  St.  Mary- 
le-Bow,  the  Monument,  and  the  Cathedral  of  St. 
Paul. 

St.  Stephen's  was  built  between  1671  and  1677, 
with  huge  Doric  pillars  202  feet  high.  For  taste 
and  proportion  it  has  been  considered  the  equal 
of  anything  in  Italy.  St.  Paul's,  however,  was 
Wren's  most  monumental  work.  It  was  built  be- 
tween 1675  and  1710  and  included  a  wonderful 
amount  of  detail  work,  the  most  notable  of  which 
were  the  carvings  of  Grinling  Gibbons,  of  which 
more  anon. 


46  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Outside  of  London,  one  of  the  first  of  the  more 
notable  buildings  of  this  period  was  the  theatre 
at  Oxford,  completed  in  1669.  The  Seaman's  Hos- 
pital at  Greenwich  is  considered,  in  many  respects, 
the  finest  of  Wren's  work  and  the  most  noteworthy 
building  of  its  kind  in  England.  Wren's  alterations 
in  Hampton  Court  Palace,  which  were  begun  in 
1689  and  finished  in  1718,  are  also  famous. 

In  1673  Wren  resigned  his  professorship  at  Ox- 
ford to  devote  his  entire  attention  to  architecture. 
In  1674  he  was  knighted  for  his  services.  In  1675 
he  was  appointed  chief  advisor  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  royal  observatory  at  Greenwich. 

About  this  time  Wren  married  the  daughter  of 
Sir  Thomas  Coghill,  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
Christopher.  She  died,  and  he  married  an  Irish 
lady,  a  daughter  of  the  Baron  of  Lifford. 

In  1680  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Royal 
Society  and  was  appointed  architect  of  Chelsea 
College.  In  1684  he  became  Comptroller  of  Works 
of  Windsor  Castle,  and  in  1688,  on  the  death  of 
Denham,  he  became  Surveyor-General.  He  was 
twice  a  member  of  Parliament,  in  1685  and  1700. 

In  1718  Wren,  through  a  court  intrigue,  was 
ousted  from  his  position  and  retired  from  active 
life.    Up  to  this  time  he  had  lived  in  Scotland  Yard, 


SIR  CHRISTOPHER  WREN  47 

near  the  former  home  of  Inigo  Jones.  In  1718 
he  moved  to  St.  James  Street,  Westminster. 

Wren  died  on  February  25,  1723,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-one,  and  was  interred  with  honour  in  St. 
Paul's.  The  cathedral  had  been  completed,  and 
Wren,  unlike  Inigo  Jones,  lived  to  see  the  crowning 
of  his  work.  He  was  a  small,  slight  man,  naturally 
frail,  but  he  managed  to  retain  good  health  and 
enjoy  an  unusually  long  life  of  activity,  largely  be- 
cause of  his  exemplary  habits  and  his  practical  knowl- 
edge of  physiology.  He  was  modest,  devout,  virtu- 
ous, companionable. 

He  left  St.  Paul's,  England's  noblest  temple; 
Hampton  Court,  England's  largest  and  finest  palace; 
Greenwich,  England's  most  beautiful  hospital,  not 
to  mention  a  dozen  other  buildings  that  stand  pre- 
eminent. 

Wren  was  twenty  years  old  when  Inigo  Jones  died, 
and  he  followed  the  Palladian,  anti-Gothic  traditions 
of  his  predecessor.  He  was  an  even  greater  stickler 
for  pure  proportion  than  Jones,  many  of  his  buildings 
being  almost  devoid  of  added  ornament.  In  his 
domestic  work  he  created  the  best  of  what  has  come 
to  be  known  as  the  Queen  Anne  style. 

Unlike  Jones,  Wren  never  visited  Italy,  and  owing 
to  his  studies  in  France  he  was  chiefly  influenced  by 


Wrought  iron  gates  at  Eaton  Hall,  Chester,  designed  by  Jean  Tijou 
and  perhaps  brought  from  Hampton  Court 


SIR  CHRISTOPHER  WREN  49 

sound  understanding  of  the  principles  of  decorative 
art — a  desire  that  survived  him  for  nearly  a  century. 

He  founded  a  school  and  lived  to  see  it  flourish. 
His  work  was  carried  on  more  or  less  consistently 
by  Burlington,  Vanbrugh,  Hawksmoor,  Gibbs,  Archer, 
James,  Kent,  Campbell,  and  other  architects  of 
less  distinction,  and  later  Sir  William  Chambers 
and  Robert  Adam  fell  heir  to  the  Classic  inheritance. 

Through  the  influence  of  Jones  and  Wren  the 
Palladian  tradition  found  expression  in  the  interiors 
of  the  Queen  Anne  period  in  spite  of  the  popularity 
of  furniture  of  the  Dutch  type.  On  the  actual  de- 
signing of  furniture,  however,  it  does  not  appear 
that  Wren  attempted  to  exert  any  appreciable  in- 
fluence.   It  was  following  an  evolution  of  its  own. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  furniture  styles  of 
the  William  and  Mary  period  in  the  chapter  on 
Daniel  Marot.  Toward  the  end  of  that  period  and 
at  the  beginning  of  Queen  Anne's  reign  (1702-1714) 
Dutch  elements  continued  to  dominate,  Dutch  lines 
becoming  more  marked  in  the  form  of  the  furni- 
ture, while  the  French  elements  of  Louis  XIV  were 
largely  abandoned,  to  remain  in  the  background  until 
Chippendale  and  his  contemporaries  introduced  the 
Louis  XV  style.  The  flamboyance  of  the  Restora- 
tion and  Marot  types  of  ornament  gave  place  to  a 


50  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

decorative  style  in  furniture  which,  if  less  elegant, 
possessed  more  inherent  grace  and  virility. 

As  the  period  advanced,  foreign  elements  were 
largely  assimilated  and  something  approaching  a 
distinctly  English  style  was  developed.  For  this 
reason,  if  for  no  other,  the  Queen  Anne  styles  de- 
serve a  higher  rating  than  they  have  sometimes  re- 
ceived. The  forms  were  better  adapted  to  use  than 
any  that  had  preceded  them.  They  tended  toward 
greater  comfort,  lightness,  and  simplicity. 

Curves  appeared  more  abundantly,  especially  in 
the  legs  and  backs  of  chairs.  Rectangular  forms 
were  modified.  The  straight  turned  leg  gave  place 
to  the  cabriole  and  underbracing  largely  disappeared. 
The  cyma  curve  was  generally  adopted  in  chair  backs, 
the  legs  of  chairs,  tables,  highboys,  lowboys,  etc.; 
on  the  scroll  tops  of  highboys  and  secretaries,  and 
on  the  aprons  of  highboys,  lowboys,  etc.  The  mirror 
frames  of  the  period  showed  the  same  motif.  Carv- 
ing  became  more  restrained  and  simpler  in  design. 
In  general,  more  attention  was  paid  to  form  than  to 
ornament. 

Walnut  continued  to  be  the  popular  wood,  and 
veneering  was  more  generally  employed.  The  fash- 
ion for  marquetry  gradually  declined.  Incidentally, 
there  grew  up  a  craze  for  lacquered  furniture,  and 


SIR  CHRISTOPHER  WREN  51 

this,  with  the  attendant  vogue  for  Chinese  orna- 
ment, carried  further  at  a  later  date  by  Chambers 
and  Chippendale,  presented  the  one  confusing  and 
discordant  decorative  element  of  the  period. 

The  typical  chair  of  the  period  was  relatively  large, 
with  simpler,  more  graceful  lines  than  those  of  the 
previous  period,  and  was,  in  general,  the  forerunner 
of  the  Chippendale  chair.  The  seat  was  broad  and 
deep,  with  curved  outlines.  The  back  was  still 
comparatively  high  and  narrow  shouldered,  shaped 
for  comfort,  and  tilted  back  from  the  perpendicular. 
The  outline  was  a  continuous  curve,  and  in  place  of 
the  rectangular  panel  of  the  Restoration  there  was  a 
broad,  vase-shaped  or  fiddle-shaped  splat.  The  typ- 
ical leg  was  the  cabriole  or  bandy-leg,  with  the 
round  Dutch  foot;  the  ball-and-claw  foot  was  of 
later  date.  Often  the  front  legs  only  were  cabriole, 
the  back  legs  being  straight  or  slightly  curved. 
Carving  was  reduced  to  a  few  details,  such  as  a  shell 
on  the  knee  of  the  leg  and  in  the  middle  of  the  top 
of  the  back.  Most  of  the  chairs  were  of  plain  or 
veneered  walnut,  though  a  few  were  more  elabor- 
ately decorated  with  carving  and  gilding  or  lacquer. 

The  roundabout  or  corner  chair  was  an  introduc- 
tion of  this  period,  and  also  the  banister-back,  slat- 
back,  and  Windsor  chairs  of  the  cottages,  though 


52  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

these  were  not  in  the  direct  line  of  style  develop- 
ment. 

Styles  in  tables  followed  a  development  similar 
to  that  of  the  Queen  Anne  chair.  Various  sorts  of 
small,  light  tables  and  stands  were  a  feature  of  the 
period.  The  tripod  stand  was  introduced  and  tray- 
top  tables,  small  leaf  tables,  and  a  variety  of  tea, 
card,  and  side  tables  were  popular. 

The  high  chest  of  drawers  was  developed  into  the 
highboy,  in  which  the  six  turned  legs  gave  place  to 
four  cabrioles,  and  brass  drawer  pulls  and  escutcheons 
became  common.  A  double  round  arch  was  used  at 
the  tops  of  highboys,  bookcases,  etc.,  and  later  the 
broken  arch  or  swTan-neck  pediment  was  introduced. 
The  lowboy,  or  dresser,  was  similar  to  the  lower  part 
of  the  highboy,  without  the  upper  chest  of  drawers. 
Bureaus,  cabinets,  corner  cupboards  and  double  chests 
of  drawers  were  all  representative  of  the  period. 

The  slant-top  desk  or  scrutoire,  with  brass  fittings 
and  short  cabriole  or  bracket  legs,  came  into  vogue, 
and  the  tall  clock  case  was  improved  and  often  pro- 
vided with  the  broken  arch  pediment  at  the  top.  For 
the  first  time  the  bedstead  underwent  a  genuine  im- 
provement, becoming  lighter,  with  slenderer  posts, 
cabriole  legs,  and  the  broken  arch  on  the  headboard. 
The  typical  Queen  Anne  mirror  frame  was  a  flat 


SIR  CHRISTOPHER  WREN  53 

piece  of  walnut,  shaped  with  a  jigsaw  and  orna- 
mented with  a  moderate  amount  of  gilding. 

During  the  reign  of  George  I  (1714-1727)  and 
the  early  part  of  George  IPs  reign,  furniture  styles 
underwent  a  gradual  transition  from  Queen  Anne 
to  Chippendale.  The  ball-and-claw  foot  on  the 
cabriole  leg  came  into  vogue  about  1715.  The 
French  influence  again  began  to  make  itself  felt. 
An  increasing  fondness  for  lacquered  furniture  and 
Chinese  types  of  ornament  and  form  became  manifest 
and  various  other  elements  entered  in,  so  that  the 
way  was  prepared  for  the  versatility  and  occasional 
extravagances  of  the  Chippendale  period  which 
followed.  The  introduction  of  mahogany,  too,  made 
a  vast  difference.  In  fact,  there  were  so  many  influ- 
ences at  work  that  no  genuine  Classic  revival  in  fur- 
niture is  noticeable,  in  spite  of  Wren's  predominance 
in  the  field  of  architecture,  until  the  time  of  Robert 
Adam.  For  the  moment  the  development  of  style  in 
architecture  and  furniture,  though  each  undoubtedly 
felt  the  influence  of  the  other,  was  traveling  along 
separate  lines,  which  did  not  converge  for  fifty  years. 

Meanwhile,  we  will  turn  back  to  the  days  of  Sir 
Christopher  Wren  for  a  consideration  of  the  special 
contributions  of  Grinling  Gibbons  and  Jean  Tijou 
to  the  decorative  styles  of  that  period. 


CHAPTER  V 


GRINLING  GIBBONS 

(1648-1721) 

IT  IS  possible  that  Grinling  Gibbons,  in  spite  of 
his  genius  as  a  craftsman,  might  have  lived  and 
died  in  comparative  obscurity  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  the  times  in  which  he 
lived  demanded  just  the  sort  of  work  he  could  do  so 
marvelously  well.  Sir  John  Evelyn  discovered  him 
and  Sir  Christopher  Wren  took  him  in  hand  and 
made  the  most  of  his  talents,  for  Wren's  work  de- 
manded interior  embellishment  and  that  was  just 
what  Gibbons  could  supply. 

Grinling  Gibbons  was  a  wood  carver  who  did  most 
of  his  work  under  Wren  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  the  early  eighteenth  centuries.  In  some 
way  he  acquired  the  spirit  of  the  Italian  Renais- 
sance in  his  work,  and  this  fitted  in  admirably  with 
the  work  Wren  was  doing  in  architecture. 

Wainscoting  of  wood  had  been  in  vogue  since 
Tudor  days.  Oak  persisted,  even  after  walnut  had 
become  popular  for  furniture.  Inigo  Jones,  who 
founded  the  school  of  Classicism  to  which  Wren 

54 


GRINLING  GIBBONS  55 

belonged,  introduced  the  use  of  painted  soft  woods 
in  interiors,  and  Wren  followed  his  example.  To 
this  fact  was  due  much  of  Gibbons's  success,  for 
he  possessed  hardly  the  patience  to  conquer  the 
tough-grained  oak. 

It  was  customary  to  have  the  wainscot  panels  set 
by  joiners  and  finished  by  carvers.  Jones  was 
handicapped  by  a  paucity  of  good  workmen,  and 
would  doubtless  have  left  more  noteworthy  exam- 
ples of  interior  carving  if  he  could  have  found 
craftsmen  skilful  enough  to  execute  it.  But  he 
stimulated  the  development  of  good  workmanship, 
so  that  Wren  found  himself  born  under  a  luckier 
star.  Both  Wren  and  Gibbons  owed  much  to  their 
predecessor  for  breaking  the  road  they  were  to 
travel.  Wren  was  a  broader  man  than  Jones,  and 
his  opportunities  were  far  greater,  and  Gibbons, 
his  employee  and  collaborator,  was  swept  up  to  fame 
with  him. 

Gibbons  was  the  greatest  carver  before  Chippen- 
dale, though  not  the  first.  Nicholas  Stone,  a  sculp- 
tor, achieved  prominence  during  the  reign  of  James 
I.  He  was  followed  by  his  son,  John  Stone,  who 
was  followed,  in  turn,  by  Caius  Gabriel  Cibber. 
Gibbons,  who  came  next,  struck  a  new  note  in  carv- 
ing, and  his  fame  outshone  that  of  his  predecessors. 


56  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Details  of  the  private  life  of  Gririling  Gibbons 
are  somewhat  meagre.  The  date  and  place  of  his 
birth  have  long  been  a  matter  of  controversy.  The 
most  persistent  account  has  it  that  his  father  was 
Simon  Gibbon,  an  English  carpenter,  who  had 
worked  under  Inigo  Jones  and  who  migrated  to 
Holland  during  the  slack  times  of  the  Common- 
wealth. Grinling,  according  to  this  story,  was  born 
in  Rotterdam  on  April  4,  1648  (the  date  is  pos- 
sibly a  matter  of  conjecture),  and  returned  to  Eng- 
land with  his  father  in  1667,  when  he  was  nineteen 
years  old.  Other  chroniclers  state  that  his  parents 
were  Dutch  and  that  he  was  one  of  many  Dutch 
craftsmen  to  settle  in  England  at  that  time.  The 
family  located  in  Yorkshire  where,  it  is  said,  Grinling 
served  an  apprenticeship  to  Etty,  the  architect. 
Later  they  moved  to  Deptford,  and  here,  it  is  sup- 
posed, Grinling  learned  and  worked  at  the  trade  of 
ship  carver. 

Another  account  makes  the  elder  Gibbon  a  Dutch- 
man who  had  migrated  to  England  early  in  life, 
and  states  that  Grinling  was  born  in  Spur  Alley, 
the  Strand,  London,  and  afterward  moved  to  Lud- 
gate  Hill. 

The  name  was  undoubtedly  spelled  without  the 
final  "s"  originally,  and  some  biographers  cling  to 


GRINLING  GIBBONS  57 

that  spelling,  but  as  Grinling  himself  adopted  the 
additional  "s,"  Gibbons  has  become  the  generally  ac- 
cepted spelling. 

Wherever  Grinling  was  born,  and  whether  his 
father  was  a  carver  or  not,  it  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand where  he  gained  his  superb  technique  and 
his  comprehension  of  the  Renaissance  spirit.  Per- 
haps Etty  was  his  teacher,  or  possibly  some  obscure 
master  in  the  shipyards  of  Deptford  deserves  the 
credit  for  developing  a  genius. 

At  all  events,  he  appears  to  have  migrated  to 
London,  and  in  1671  he  was  working  in  a  little  shop, 
unknown  and  unappreciated,  when  Sir  John  Evelyn, 
the  diarist,  chanced  upon  him  and  was  amazed  by 
the  extraordinary  strength  and  finish  of  his  work- 
manship.   Evelyn  thus  records  the  meeting: 

"This  day  I  first  acquainted  His  Majesty  with 
that  incomparable  young  man  Gibbon,  whom  I  had 
lately  met  with  in  an  obscure  place  by  accident  as 
I  was  walking  near  a  poor  solitary  thatched  house 
in  a  field  in  our  parish  near  Sayes  Court.  I  found 
him  shut  in;  but  looking  through  the  window  I 
perceived  him  carving  that  large  cartoon  or  crucifix 
of  Tintoretto."  In  this  seclusion  he  worked  so  that 
he  might,  according  to  Evelyn,  "apply  himself  to 
his  profession  without  interruption."    On  asking 


58  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

the  price  of  the  carving  Evelyn  was  told  that  £100 
would  purchase  it.  Evelyn  continues:  " In  good 
earnest  the  very  frame  was  worth  the  money,  there 
being  nothing  in  Nature  so  tender  and  delicate  as 
the  flowers  and  festoons  about  it,  and  yet  the  work 
was  very  strong." 

The  object  which  chiefly  engrossed  Evelyn's  at- 
tention was  a  representation  of  the  stoning  of  St. 
Stephen,  wrought  in  marvelous  detail.  It  was  made 
of  pieces  of  limewood  and  lancewood,  glued  together 
to  make  a  block  4  ft.  A\  in.  x  6  ft.  \  in.,  with  the 
carving  some  12  inches  deep.  This  work  of  art  was 
eventually  purchased  by  Charles  II,  on  Evelyn's 
recommendation,  and  is  now  in  the  Victoria  and 
Albert  Museum. 

Gibbons  was  introduced  by  Evelyn  to  the  King, 
who  gave  him  a  place  on  the  Board  of  Public  Works. 
Sir  Christopher  Wren  had  recently  been  made  Sur- 
veyor of  His  Majesty's  Works,  and  was  already 
at  work  on  his  plans  for  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  but  it  was  Hugh  May,  Comptroller  of  the 
Works,  who  first  took  Gibbons  in  hand  and  set  him  at 
work  on  Windsor  Castle.  This  carving  made  him 
famous.  In  1678  he  carved  two  great  chimney- 
pieces  for  the  Queen's  privy  chamber  and  the  King's 
drawing  room,  with  festoons  of  fishes,  shells,  and 


GRINLING  GIBBONS  59 

other  marine  objects.  A  remarkable  composition 
of  the  star  and  garter,  pelicans,  doves,  and  palms, 
carved  in  the  wood  of  the  lime  tree,  showed  a  won- 
derful perfection  of  finish.  At  Windsor,  too,  he  did 
carvings  for  the  chapel  and  halls,  and  carved  a 
pedestal  for  the  equestrian  statue  of  the  King,  with 
exquisite  details  of  fruit,  fish,  and  marine  symbols. 
All  this  so  pleased  the  King  that  Gibbons  was  ap- 
pointed Master  Carver,  a  post  which  he  retained 
under  several  succeeding  sovereigns. 

After  his  success  at  Windsor,  Gibbons  found  no 
lack  of  work  to  do  for  private  and  public  buildings. 
One  of  his  first  commissions  was  for  the  seat  of  the 
Earl  of  Sussex  at  Cassiobury,  Hertfordshire,  where 
he  carved  a  noteworthy  staircase  and  decorated 
most  of  the  rooms.  This  commission  was  fol- 
lowed by  many  others. 

Wren,  who  had  naturally  taken  notice  of  Gib- 
bons's  work,  and  who  had  probably  employed  him 
occasionally,  now  became  his  chief  patron.  St. 
Paul's  had  been  building  for  several  years  when, 
about  1693,  Gibbons  was  employed  to  do  the  carv- 
ing. His  work  here  extended  over  four  years, 
1694-7.  All  of  the  best  artisans  of  the  day  were 
employed  in  the  cathedral,  including  Jean  Tijou  who 
did  the  ironwork.    Gibbons  carved  the  choir  stalls, 


60  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

organ  cases,  screens,  and  other  portions,  including 
the  library.  Wren  designed  the  general  scheme,  but 
Gibbons  drew  the  details  and  he  and  his  workmen 
did  the  carving,  for  by  this  time  he  had  skilled  work- 
men under  him.  His  own  chisel,  however,  was 
much  in  use  on  the  finer  work.  The  St.  Paul's 
carving  is  partly  in  oak,  partly  in  Gibbons's  favourite 
limewood. 

When  this  work  was  completed,  Gibbons  con- 
tinued under  Wren  at  St.  James's,  Westminster; 
Trinity  College  chapel  and  Queen's  College,  Oxford; 
Trinity  and  Pembroke  Colleges,  Cambridge,  and 
many  other  notable  buildings.  In  1714  Gibbons 
was  appointed  Master  Carver  to  George  I,  but  the 
post  proved  to  be  an  empty  honour.  A  more  con- 
ventional and  architectural  mode  of  decoration  had 
come  into  vogue,  and  though  Gibbons  lived  and 
doubtless  worked  several  years  longer,  his  chief 
activities  belong  in  the  late  seventeenth  century. 
His  last  known  work  was  at  Hampton  Court  Palace 
in  1710. 

For  many  years  Gibbons  lived  in  Bow  Street, 
Covent  Garden,  and  he  died  there  on  August  3, 
1721.  He  was  buried  with  honour  in  St.  Paul's.  In 
1722  many  of  his  treasures  were  sold  at  auction. 

The  list  of  his  works  is  long  and  varied.  Wren 


GRINLING  GIBBONS  61 

employed  him  on  the  palace  and  chapel  at  White- 
hall for  James  II,  on  Kensington  Palace  for  Wil- 
liam III,  and  on  Hampton  Court  Palace.  A  number 
of  Wren's  London  churches  contain  carvings  in 
Gibbons' s  manner,  though  not  all  are  authentic.  He 
did,  however,  do  the  work  in  St.  James's  Church, 
Piccadilly.  One  of  his  most  remarkable  carvings  is 
here — the  reredos  carved  in  cedar  within  a  curved 
marble  pediment  over  the  picture  of  the  Last  Sup- 
per. The  baptismal  font  at  the  west  end  of  the 
church  is  one  of  the  few  known  examples  of  his 
work  in  stone  sculpture. 

Gibbons  executed  carvings  in  various  halls  and 
semi-public  buildings  in  London  and  at  Chelsea 
Hospital.  In  addition  to  the  private  mansions  and 
country  houses  already  mentioned,  his  work  was 
to  be  found  at  Petworth,  Burleigh,  Chatsworth, 
Belton,  Hackwood,  Badminton,  Holme  Lacy,  Sud- 
bury Hall,  Blenheim,  and  several  others.  The  carv- 
ings in  Petworth  House  in  Sussex  and  at  Holme  Lacy 
are  perhaps  the  most  famous  of  these. 

Holme  Lacy  was  the  seat  of  the  Scudamores,  and 
was  famous  for  the  splendid  carved  decorations  in 
all  the  principal  rooms,  for  which  Gibbons  was  em- 
ployed. It  is  only  at  Petworth  that  he  exceeded, 
on  domestic  interiors,  the  fineness  of  his  work  at 


62  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Holme  Lacy.  One  of  the  most  superb  examples  of 
his  skill  is  a  large  chamber  at  Petworth,  enriched 
from  floor  to  ceiling  with  swags,  festoons  and  me- 
dallions. He  is  also  credited  with  the  base  of  the 
statue  of  Charles  I  at  Charing  Cross  and  of  that  of 
Charles  II  at  the  Royal  Exchange,  and  probably 
executed  the  bronze  statue  of  James  II  in  the  privy 
gardens  at  Whitehall.  He  carved  the  wooden  throne 
at  Canterbury  and  a  magnificent  tomb  for  the  Vis- 
count Camden  in  Exton  Church,  22  feet  high  and 
14  feet  wide,  bearing  many  bas-reliefs  including 
figures  of  members  of  the  family.  Picture  frames, 
chimneypieces,  doorways,  etc.,  were  his  delight. 
Some  of  his  panels  are  so  like  lace  or  embroidery 
that  the  beholder  is  impelled  to  feel  of  them  to 
make  sure  they  are  of  wood. 

Gibbons,  indeed,  could  make  fruit  and  flowers, 
carved  in  wood,  look  positively  real.  His  work  is 
characterized  by  a  wonderful  lightness,  grace,  and 
lack  of  conventionality.  His  compositions  are  bal- 
anced, but  his  details  are  the  last  word  in  realism. 
He  worked  with  an  infinite  variety  of  forms,  his 
favourite  details  being  vine  leaves  and  grapes,  wheat 
ears,  hop  blossoms,  pea  pods,  poppy  heads,  sun- 
flowers, guelder  roses,  pomegranates,  crabs,  sea 
shells,  cherubs'  heads,  lace  work,  birds,  and  wonder- 


GRINLING  GIBBONS  63 

ful  combinations  of  fruits,  flowers,  and  foliage.  For 
delicacy  and  elaboration  of  detail,  his  work  has 
never  been  surpassed. 

He  made  use  of  various  woods,  preferring  the 
softer,  more  closely  grained  sorts.  He  worked  in 
lime,  pear,  cedar,  and  box,  usually;  rarely  in  oak, 
sycamore,  walnut,  olive,  ebony,  and  elm.  Probably 
he  would  never  have  used  the  tough  oak  and  wal- 
nut at  all  but  for  the  fact  that  they  were  the  woods 
most  in  demand  at  that  time  for  wall  panels.  The 
choir  stalls  at  St.  Paul's,  perhaps  his  most  famous 
work,  are  in  oak.  But  his  favourite  medium  was 
the  wood  of  the  lime  tree,  which  his  sharp  tools 
could  carve  so  surely  and  rapidly.  This  wood  is 
light  coloured,  not  unlike  satinwood  when  polished 
— perhaps  even  lighter  in  hue — without  the  sheen 
in  the  grain  which  distinguishes  satinwood.  The 
grain  is  very  even  and  not  marked,  and  the  wood  is 
in  texture  somewhat  like  box,  though  much  softer. 
This  wood  Gibbons  could  finish  so  smoothly  with  his 
tool  that  no  sandpapering  was  necessary  or  desir- 
able. He  never  painted  it  when  he  could  avoid 
doing  so. 

Undoubtedly,  Gibbons  derived  direct  inspiration 
from  Inigo  Jones,  for  it  is  possible  to  trace  in  some 
of  the  work  produced  or  influenced  by  Jones  the 


64  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

beginnings  of  the  style  developed  by  Gibbons.  A 
room  at  Wilton,  for  example,  which  was  executed  by 
Jones,  contains  carvings  of  fruit  and  flowers  and 
cherubs'  heads  which  strongly  suggest  Gibbons. 

This  style  of  carving,  however,  was  nobody's  ex- 
clusive property.  It  was  an  Italian  Renaissance 
style,  or,  more  specifically,  Florentine.  A  study  of 
both  Italian  and  Dutch  carving  of  the  period  sug- 
gests the  possible  source  of  Gibbons's  inspiration, 
though  it  cannot  fully  explain  it.  It  is  not  sup- 
posed that  Gibbons  studied  on  the  Continent,  yet 
he  introduced  a  foreign  style  into  England  and  de- 
veloped it  to  its  highest  point  of  perfection. 

Gibbons  was  in  the  highest  sense  a  craftsman, 
possessing  at  once  skill  of  the  hands,  imagination, 
and  artistic  ideals.  He  was  a  clever  draftsman  and 
with  the  carver's  tools  was  marvelously  swift  and 
sure.  His  natural  aptitude  for  design  in  some  way 
became  an  educated  taste,  though  culture  never 
robbed  it  of  its  freshness.  His  details  showed  an 
almost  barbaric  realism,  while  his  main  schemes  of 
grouping  displayed  a  thorough  understanding  of  the 
basic  principles  of  decorative  design. 
•  The  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  New  York, 
possesses  two  excellent  examples  of  the  work  of 
Grinling  Gibbons.    One  is  from  the  overmantel  of 


Detail  of  the  lock  rail  of  the  centre  gate,  east  front,  Hampton  Court  Palace, 
designed  by  Jean  Tijou.    The  six-inch  rule  shows  the  scale 


One  of  the  twelve  panels  in  the  screen  about  the  Fountain  Garden  at 
Hampton  Court,  designed  by  Tijou 


GRINLING  GIBBONS  65 

the  saloon  or  drawing-room  at  Holme  Lacy.  It 
measures  16  feet  5  inches  high  by  8  feet  10  inches 
wide.  The  carving  is  in  the  form  of  a  frame  for 
a  Van  Dyke  portrait.  It  consists  of  a  double  swag 
and  two  long,  pendent  garlands,  with  a  rectangular 
panel  at  the  bottom.  The  central  ornaments  of 
the  two  swags  are  a  spread  eagle  and  an  intricately 
twined  monogram.  Unlike  most  of  the  carvings 
at  Holme  Lacy,  this  one  is  of  oak,  gilded. 

The  other  example  is  a  smaller  panel  in  Gibbons's 
later  style,  probably  from  some  church.  It  is  of 
limewood,  deeply  undercut,  unpainted,  and  shows 
the  royal  arms  of  George  I  supported  by  the  lion 
and  the  unicorn,  and  surrounded  by  a  graceful 
mantling  of  acanthus  leaves. 

Gibbons  was  versatile  within  the  limits  of  his 
craft.  He  carved  all  sorts  of  things,  from  an  imita- 
tion point  cravat  in  limewood  to  the  interior  of 
England's  greatest  cathedral.  He  was  at  his  best, 
perhaps,  in  mirror  frames,  wall  panels,  and  me- 
dallions, and  in  chimneypieces.  He  probably  de- 
signed some  furniture  to  fit  special  requirements, 
but  his  work  in  this  field  was  limited.  His  style  of 
carving  is  to  be  seen  sometimes  on  chairs  and  on  the 
stands  of  lacquer  cabinets,  but  his  influence  on  furni- 
ture design,  like  Wren's,  was  rather  general  than  par- 


66  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

ticular.  Nevertheless,  his  genius  and  example  came 
to  be  felt  in  carving  of  every  kind  of  movable  furni- 
ture. As  one  writer  puts  it,  Gibbons  made  carving 
popular  and  Chippendale  possible. 

It  was  rather  as  an  interior  decorator  in  wood  that 
he  excelled,  and  his  real  mission  in  the  development 
of  English  styles  was  the  creating  of  a  more  refined 
popular  taste  in  this  field.  He  became  popular  and 
hence  much  imitated  at  one  time,  and  he  left  several 
pupils  or  apprentices  who  may  be  said  to  have 
formed  a  school  of  wood  carving,  but  he  was  really 
not  a  teacher,  and  to  a  large  extent  his  art  died  with 
him.  He  left  no  equals  and  the  vogue  of  Italian 
gesso,  followed  by  the  fashion  for  compo,  introduced 
by  the  Adams,  drove  out  his  imitators.  Indeed, 
his  work  appears  as  a  sort  of  isolated  episode  in  the 
history  of  English  decorative  art,  which  nevertheless 
left  permanent  impress  on  popular  taste. 

In  its  sumptuous  effect,  combining  richness  of  orna- 
ment with  vivacious  lightness  of  line  and  detail,  the 
carving  of  Grinling  Gibbons  is  typical  of  a  period 
when  the  Classic  dignities  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren's 
architectural  style  were  beginning  to  feel  the  soften- 
ing influence  in  details  of  decoration  which,  a  genera- 
tion later,  was  to  develop  into  the  fantastic  gaiety 
of  French  rococo,  of  which  Thomas  Chippendale  was 


GRINLING  GIBBONS  67 

the  foremost  exponent.  As  Wren  was  the  out- 
standing artistic  mind  of  the  period,  Gibbons  was 
its  master  technician,  and  his  remarkable  work  left 
its  imprint  on  all  the  arts  of  the  time,  and  on  much 
succeeding  work  of  the  next  hundred  years. 

Certainly  his  contemporaries  thought  well  of  him. 
Evelyn,  who  was  perhaps  prejudiced  in  favour  of  the 
man  he  had  discovered,  called  him  "  the  greatest  mas- 
ter, both  for  invention  and  rareness  of  work,  that  the 
world  ever  had  in  any  age." 


CHAPTER  VI 


JEAN  TIJOU 

BEFORE  leaving  the  period  in  which  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren  was  the  dominant  personality, 
there  remains  one  other  master  of  design  to 
consider,  a  contemporary  of  Grinling  Gibbons,  his 
fellow  worker,  and  in  many  respects  his  artistic  [equal. 
I  refer  to  Jean  Tijou,  who  designed  the  ornamental 
ironwork,  as  Gibbons  executed  the  wood  carving,  at 
Hampton  Court,  St.  Paul's,  and  numerous  private 
mansions. 

Living  as  we  do  in  an  age  in  which  applied  art  of  a 
reasonably  high  order  is  a  common  matter,  when 
sculpture,  mural  decoration,  ornamental  metal  work, 
and  other  forms  of  decoration  of  considerable  merit 
are  to  be  seen  in  every  public  building  of  importance, 
and  well-designed  furniture  and  decorations  are  avail- 
able for  every  home,  we  are  likely  to  lose  sight  of  the 
fact  that  these  things  are  but  the  heritage  of  a  by- 
gone age,  when  master  craftsmen,  with  meagre  tradi- 
tions and  education,  and  with  more  primitive  tools 
than  ours,  created  works  of  art  and  originated  types  of 
design  which  we  so  blithely  borrow.    For  this  is, 

68 


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JEAN  TIJOU  69 

after  all,  a  machine-made  age  in  which  we  live,  and 
objects  of  art  are  so  easily  obtained  that  we  are  prone 
to  lose  our  reverence  for  the  sources  of  genius  from 
which  they  sprung.  It  is  difficult  for  us  to  visualize 
the  painful  processes  by  which  a  Benvenuto  Cellini 
wrought  his  masterpieces.  When  we  look  upon  the 
wonderful  wrought  ironwork  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury we  forget  that  these  elaborate  gates  and  balconies 
had  all  to  be  wearily  forged  by  hand,  with  a  doubt  as 
to  whether  so  new  a  thing  would  be  successful. 

It  is  perhaps  not  strange,  therefore,  that  the  name 
of  Jean  Tijou  has  long  remained  unfamiliar  to  most  of 
us,  and  that  we  have  failed  to  know  or  appreciate  the 
wonderful  ironwork  which  he  designed  in  England 
at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Ironwork  had  not  been  one  of  England's  great  arts. 
It  never  reached  a  high  point  of  merit  until  the  period 
of  revival  beginning  with  the  reign  of  Charles  II — 
the  Restoration.  The  vogue  for  it,  however,  in- 
creased during  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary  and 
continued  through  the  Queen  Anne  and  early  Geor- 
gian periods.  It  was  largely  in  the  spirit  of  the 
French  art  of  Louis  XIV.  Following  the  lead  of 
Hampton  Court,  every  important  country  seat  and 
mansion  in  England  was  adorned  with  magnificent 
forecourt  and  garden  gates,  screens,  and  balustrades 


70  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

of  hand-wrought  iron,  often  painted  blue  or  green  and 
gilded.  An  unfettered  expression  of  craftsmanship 
marked  the  period.  It  resulted,  naturally,  in  a  re- 
markable development  in  the  art  and  skill  of  designers 
and  smiths  of  whose  personalities  we  know  extra- 
ordinarily little. 

During  the  reign  of  James  I  the  art  of  gardening  and 
landscape  architecture  received  attention  which  had 
hitherto  been  largely  lacking  in  England,  in  spite 
of  the  early  interest  of  Elizabeth's  time.  During 
the  period  of  the  Restoration  there  was  a  further  re- 
vival of  interest  in  gardening,  with  a  demand  for 
ornamental  gates  and  fences  and  a  consequent  im- 
pulse given  to  the  ironworker's  craft. 

Daniel  Marot  had  designed  the  garden  gates  at  the 
Chateau  des  Maisons  near  Paris  and  his  designs  were 
published.    English  designers  followed  his  lead. 

Charles  II  caused  gardens  to  be  laid  out  at  St. 
James's,  Greenwich,  and  Hampton  Court,  and  many 
private  gardens  followed.  In  1670  Sir  Christopher 
Wren  was  called  upon  to  repair  the  fences  and  make 
new  gates  for  the  royal  parks,  but  his  work  in  this  field 
was  of  only  moderate  merit.  However,  as  the  demand 
for  more  elaborate  work  continued,  taste  improved. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  neither  Inigo  Jones  nor  Wren 
had  made  use  of  much  ironwork  prior  to  Tijou's 


A  ribbon-back  Chippendale  chair  in  the  more  elaborate  manner  of  Louis 
XV.    Courtesy  of  Duveen  Brothers 


JEAN  TIJOU  71 

time.  Apparently  they  did  not  foster  the  taste  for  it. 
What  little  work  Wren  did  was  very  simple.  The 
grilles  for  the  cloisters  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
built  by  Wren  in  1878,  were  his  most  noteworthy  de- 
signs. They  were  executed  by  one  Partridge,  who  is 
known  merely  as  a  London  smith. 

But  fine  work  had  been  done  in  France  for  Louis 
XIV,  at  the  Palais  Royal  and  a  number  of  churches, 
and  the  desire  in  England  for  decorative  work  in  the 
French  manner  became  too  strong  to  be  resisted. 
Then  came  Jean  Tijou,  a  Frenchman,  to  add  a  new 
expression  to  the  rapidly  developing  art  instinct  of 
England. 

Most  of  the  masters  of  applied  art  in  England  were 
native  born,  but  two  of  them,  Marot  and  Tijou,  were 
Frenchmen  who  did  their  work  under  foreign  auspices. 
Of  Tijou  we  know  amazingly  little,  considering  his 
prominence  at  court.  For  some  unknown  reason 
Sir  John  Evelyn,  the  diarist,  who  had  not  a  little  to 
say  about  Grinling  Gibbons,  does  not  mention  Tijou. 
For  the  little  data  that  has  been  gathered  we  are 
indebted  largely  to  Mr.  J.  Starkie  Gardner,  Tijou's 
chief,  almost  his  only,  biographer. 

We  do  not  know  the  date  or  place  of  Tijou's  birth, 
save  that  it  was  in  France,  his  residence  in  England, 
nor  the  date  of  his  death  or  his  place  of  burial.  Noth- 


72  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

ing  is  known  of  his  previous  work  in  France  or  Hol- 
land, nor  of  the  sources  of  his  training.  Nothing  has 
been  recorded  regarding  his  family  beyond  the  fact 
that  he  had  a  daughter  who  was  married  to  a  suc- 
cessful French  artist  in  England,  Louis  Laguerre,  at 
the  Church  of  St.  Martin' s-in-the-Fields. 

It  has  been  stated  that  Tijou  was,  like  Marot, 
probably  a  French  Protestant  refugee  to  the  Nether- 
lands, who  came  to  England  in  the  train  of  William 
of  Orange,  but  Mr.  Gardner  is  inclined  to  doubt  this. 
Laguerre  was  a  Catholic  who  had  been  educated  for  the 
priesthood,  and  it  is  more  likely  that  both  men  came 
from  French  Catholic  families  of  the  better  class. 
Tijou  may  merely  have  migrated  to  England  in  search 
of  broader  opportunities. 

In  any  event,  he  was  no  novice  when  he  reached 
London.  This  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of 
William  and  Mary,  by  whom  Wren  was  retained 
in  the  office  of  Surveyor.  Almost  immediately  we 
find  Tijou  at  work  on  some  of  Wren's  buildings. 

Rumour  has  it  that  Tijou  made  his  home  somewhere 
in  Soho,  but  he  must  have  lived  much  of  the  time  at 
Hampton  Court.  Part  of  the  work  for  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  was  executed  at  Hampton  Court  and  brought 
to  London  by  water,  though  by  1699  the  forging  was 
evidently  done  at  Piccadilly. 


JEAN  TIJOU  73 

William  of  Orange  ascended  the  English  throne  in 
1689,  and  he  and  Queen  Mary  were  Tijou's  lifelong 
patrons.  Under  their  patronage  he  became  Eng- 
land's greatest  designer  of  richly  wrought  iron. 

As  has  been  stated,  nothing  is  known  of  Tijou's 
death.  He  seems  to  have  disappeared  from  England 
about  1712.  The  last  documentary  evidence  of  his 
existence  in  the  St.  Paul's  records  is  dated  1711. 
He  is  thought  to  have  returned  to  France,  but  his 
name  appears  nowhere  among  the  French  designers  or 
ironworkers,  and  no  trace  of  death,  burial,  or  will  has 
been  found.  Such  are  the  meagre  details  of  the  life 
of  one  who  left  a  lasting  impress  on  the  art  life  of 
England. 

Tijou  was  not  himself  a  smith,  but  a  designer  and 
contractor  for  ironwork.  The  ironwork  at  Hampton 
Court  Palace  is,  with  few  exceptions,  the  most  famous 
in  the  world,  and  the  best  of  it  was  designed  by  and 
executed  for  Tijou  under  the  supervision  of  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren. 

Wren,  soon  after  the  coming  of  William  III,  began 
his  additions  to  Hampton  Court,  and  within  a  year 
Tijou  rendered  a  bill  for  six  iron  vanes,  "finely  wrought 
in  Leaves  and  Scroll  worke,"  amounting  to  £80,  and 
also  for  an  iron  balcony  for  the  Water  Gallery,  which 
was  taken  down  in  1701.    In  1690  he  rendered  his 


74  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

second  bill  of  £755  7s.,  for  gates,  pillars,  and  panels 
for  a  screen  encircling  the  Fountain  Garden  at  Hamp- 
ton Court,  which  was  completed  about  1692. 

Tijou  was,  indeed,  responsible  for  most  of  the  ex- 
quisitely wrought  iron  gates  and  fences  surrounding 
the  private  gardens  of  Hampton  Court.  In  1698 
the  Fountain  Garden  was  redesigned  and  enlarged  by 
Daniel  Marot,  and  in  1699  this  work  was  pushed. 
Tijou  took  the  contract  for  a  large  amount  of  metal 
work,  but  it  is  probable  that  some  of  these  later  bills 
were  never  paid. 

The  screen  around  the  Fountain  Garden  was  one 
of  Tijou's  most  noteworthy  achievements.  It  eclipsed 
everything  that  had  previously  been  done  in  this  line 
in  England.  Nothing  so  extensive  had  been  done 
anywhere  in  Europe,  and  nothing  in  wrought  iron  so 
rich  and  florid  has  been  produced  for  any  garden  since. 
The  screen  or  fence  was  ten  feet  high,  and  included 
twelve  strikingly  bold,  richly  designed  panels,  all 
different  in  details  but  harmonious  in  general  effect, 
separated  by  stately  pilasters  surmounted  by  royal 
crowns  and  buttressed  by  scroll-work  supports.  In 
the  centre  of  each  panel  was  displayed  a  square  built 
about  a  rose,  thistle,  garter,  or  some  badge,  emblem, 
or  cypher  of  the  British  royalty  or  nobility,  supported 
by  elaborate  acanthus  and  scroll-work  designs,  in- 


JEAN  TIJOU  75 

tricate  but  perfectly  balanced  and  harmoniously  ar- 
ranged. The  acanthus  designs  and  arabesques  were 
in  the  most  florid  taste  of  Louis  XIV,  but  the  pilasters 
were  dignified  and  English  in  spirit,  expressing,  per- 
haps, Wren's  influence. 

Other  examples  of  Tijou's  richest  work  were  the 
three  fine  gates  in  the  east  or  garden  front  of  the 
palace,  a  pair  of  magnificent  gates  and  wickets  which 
separated  the  Long  Walk  from  the  Home  Park,  and  a 
pair  of  gates,  made  in  1694-6,  which  still  close  the 
arched  entrance  to  the  Queen's  side  of  the  palace. 
The  famous  Lion  Gates  of  Hampton  Court  are  of  the 
later  period  of  George  I,  and  are  inferior  copies  of 
Tijou's  gates  at  the  Long  Walk. 

A  plainer  railing,  nearly  500  yards  long,  separating 
the  gardens  and  the  Park,  was  set  up  by  Tijou  in  1700. 
The  picturesque  railing  of  the  garden  terrace,  with  its 
simple  but  finely  proportioned  pilasters  and  panels, 
the  balustrade  with  ovals  at  the  head  of  the  water 
features  of  the  Park,  and  the  railing  of  the  Orangery 
were  all  in  Tijou's  style  and  were  probably  designed 
by  him. 

He  was  also  responsible  for  the  variously  designed 
stair  rails  in  the  palace  which  ornamented  the  back 
stairs  to  the  royal  apartments,  now  used  as  private 
apartments.  They  were  built  about  1696.  The  King's 


76  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

staircase,  painted  by  Verrio,  and  with  a  balustrade 
by  Tijou,  was  completed  in  1699. 

The  Hampton  Court  gardens  were  remodelled  by 
George  III,  and  much  of  the  ironwork  was  scattered. 
Some  of  it,  fortunately,  found  its  way  to  South  Ken- 
sington and  other  museums,  and  some  of  it  has  since 
been  restored. 

The  ironwork  at  Hampton  Court  used  to  be  attri- 
buted to  Huntington  Shaw  of  Nottingham,  but  that 
injustice  has  been  rectified,  though  Shaw  has  a  monu- 
ment to  his  memory  and  Tijou  has  none.  Probably 
Shaw  was  associated  with  Wren  and  Tijou  as  an  exe- 
cuting smith  on  the  work  at  Hampton  Court,  St. 
Paul's,  and  elsewhere. 

Tijou  designed  iron  gates  for  a  number  of  private 
mansions  in  and  about  London  and  also  for  country 
estates,  notably  Carshalton  in  Surrey,  Burleigh 
House  near  Stamford,  Wimpole,  the  Earl  of  Rad- 
nor's seat  in  Cambridgeshire,  and  Burley-on-the- 
Hill  in  Rutland.  The  pair  of  gates  at  Eaton  Hall, 
Chester,  designed  by  Tijou,  may  have  been  brought 
thither  from  Hampton  Court.  The  gates  of  the 
chapel  at  Bridewell,  of  the  Clarendon  Printing  House, 
and  others  have  been  attributed  to  him.  About 
1694  he  designed  a  stair  balustrade  and  balconies 
for  Chatsworth,  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire. 


JEAN  TIJOU  77 

At  Drayton  House  in  Northamptonshire  there  is 
a  quantity  of  fine  ironwork  that  is  supposed  to  have 
been  designed  by  Tijou,  though  its  authenticity  is 
not  certain.  It  was  made  to  the  order  of  the  Baron- 
ess Mordaunt,  later  Duchess  of  Norfolk,  who  married 
Sir  John  Germain  and  set  up  an  elaborate  establish- 
ment in  1700. 

Next  to  Hampton  Court,  Tijou's  most  important 
work  was  done  at  St.  Paul's.  He  was  employed 
here  for  twenty  years  and  he  never  worked  to  better 
purpose.  For  sheer  beauty,  some  of  the  ironwork  at 
St.  Paul's  has  never  been  surpassed.  In  discussing 
this  work  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Tijou  was 
not  a  practical  smith,  but  a  designer.  It  is  not 
known  that  he  ever  wielded  the  hammer.  But  he 
was  also  a  contractor  or  directing  master,  with  skilled 
artisans  working  under  him. 

Wren  had  charge  of  the  work  at  St.  Paul's,  and 
doubtless  he  was  Tijou's  superior,  with  power  to 
approve  or  reject  any  of  Tijou's  work.  For  some 
reason,  however,  perhaps  connected  with  court  in- 
fluence, Wren  appears  to  have  disturbed  Tijou  very 
little,  so  that  one  gains  the  impression  that  he 
worked  almost  independently.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
noticeable  that  Tijou's  work  at  St.  Paul's  was  more 
restrained  than  at  Hampton  Court,  indicating  that 


78  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Wren  found  some  way  in  which  to  make  his  influence 
felt. 

The  progress  of  Tijou's  work  at  St.  Paul's  can  be 
traced  in  the  official  accounts,  in  which  he  is  usually 
referred  to  as  "John  Tijoue,  smith."  The  first 
mention  of  his  name  in  these  documents  appeared  in 
1691.  In  that  year  and  in  1692  he  executed  some 
windows.  These  were  not  particularly  ornamental. 
By  1696  he  had  done  considerable  fine  work  in  the 
choir,  including  an  iron  screen  under  the  organ  case, 
now  incorporated  in  the  sanctuary  screen. 

In  1699  he  was  paid  £160  for  a  pair  of  gates,  with 
wickets,  at  the  west  side  of  the  south  portico,  which 
are  still  in  existence;  and  £265  for  a  range  of  desks  for 
the  choristers,  which  have  since  been  destroyed. 
Particularly  remarkable  for  their  fine  workmanship 
and  graceful  artistry  were  the  gates  at  the  ends  of  the 
choir  aisles  and  the  altar  rails,  for  which  we  find  him 
credited  with  £540  and  £260  respectively  in  1705. 
Critics  have  pronounced  this  the  finest  ironwork,  all 
things  considered,  in  England. 

In  1706  he  completed  the  ironwork  of  the  round 
staircase  in  the  southwest  tower  and  various  other 
work  in  and  about  the  cathedral.  The  entries  for  his 
work  continue  up  to  1711. 

Tijou  had  numerous  apprentices  and  helpers,  and, 


JEAN  TIJOU  79 

indeed,  founded  a  sort  of  school  of  ironwork  design. 
Robert  Bakewell  of  Derby,  Roberts  Brothers,  William 
Edney  of  Bristol,  and  other  disciples  of  Tijou  out- 
side of  London  continued  his  style  of  work  till  after 
1720.  Among  the  smiths  in  London  who  worked  on 
St.  Paul's  and  who  were  undoubtedly  men  of  rare 
skill,  were  Partridge,  Thomas  Robinson,  Thomas 
Coalburn,  Warren,  and  George  Buncker.  Robin- 
son is  known  to  have  done  some  especially  fine  work, 
but  on  the  whole  we  know  very  little  about  these 
men. 

Like  Marot  and  other  architects  and  designers  of 
the  period,  Tijou  prepared  and  published  for  sale  a 
book  of  designs.  It  was  entitled  "A  New  Book  of 
Drawings'  Invented  and  Desined  by  John  Tijou," 
and  it  was  published  in  London  in  1693.  It  con- 
tained twenty  plates,  including  designs  of  work 
planned  for  Hampton  Court,  Trinity  College  Li- 
brary, Burleigh,  Chatsworth,  and  elsewhere.  Some  of 
these  designs  were  modified  more  or  less  before  [being 
executed,  and  there  were  other  designs  in  the  book 
which  probably  were  never  executed.  In  fact,  some 
of  them  do  not  appear  to  be  practicable. 

The  designs  are  decidedly  French  in  feeling,  with 
the  spirit  of  Louis  XIV  predominant.  Marot's  in- 
fluence is  evident.    Tijou  was  naturally  in  sympathy 


80  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

with  Marot's  artistic  creeds,  and  the  latter  was  prac- 
tically an  arbiter  of  taste  during  the  reign  of  William 
and  Mary.  At  some  time  between  1686  and  1689 
Marot  had  published  in  Holland  a  book  containing 
six  plates  of  ironwork  designs,  and  Tijou's  appear 
to  have  been  based  on  these.  Marot,  however,  only 
gave  direction  to  a  style  which  Tijou  developed  much 
farther.    Tijou's  book  is  now  rare  and  very  valuable. 

Tijou's  designs  were  beautiful  as  a  whole  and  in 
detail.  They  were  well  balanced,  symmetrical  in 
every  part,  sectionally  harmonious,  minutely  stu- 
died. They  covered  broad  expanses  with  remarkable 
consistency;  weak  spots  were  avoided.  In  technique 
and  plan  they  should  be  an  inspiration  to  modern 
decorative  designers. 

Tijou's  style,  like  that  of  Daniel  Marot  and  Grin- 
ling  Gibbons,  was  of  Italian  derivation,  filtered 
through  Spanish,  French,  Flemish,  and  Dutch  media. 
It  showed  the  same  tendency  toward  the  elaborate 
and  florid,  with  a  wealth  of  acanthus  leaves,  scroll 
work,  draperies,  rosettes,  masks,  eagles'  and  cocks' 
heads,  heraldic  emblems,  figure  work,  etc.  Like 
Gibbons,  he  loved  a  lace-like  pattern  as  well  as  a  bold 
sweep  of  curve.  He  followed  Marot  in  the  use  of 
monograms  and  cyphers  of  delicately  interlaced 
openwork  in  place  of  heavy,  solid  shields. 


JEAN  TIJOU  81 

If  Tijou  lacked  anything,  it  was  that  sense  of 
proportion  and  fitness,  of  restraint  and  Classic  feel- 
ing, that  guided  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  Had  it 
not  been  for  the  steadying  influence  of  Wren,  the 
exuberance  of  Marot,  Gibbons,  and  Tijou  might  have 
swept  England  into  such  artistic  extravagances  and 
absurdities  as  marred  the  French  style  of  Louis  XV. 
However,  Tijou' s  later  designs  showed  more  restraint, 
perhaps  due  to  Wren's  constant  editing  at  St.  Paul's, 
though  he  was  never  held  back  by  the  practical 
limitations  of  smithcraft.  Though  some  of  his  de- 
signs were  impossible  of  execution,  in  the  main  he 
forced  the  smiths  to  rise  to  meet  his  requirements. 

It  is  strange  how  little  fame  has  been  accorded 
Tijou  and  his  work.  It  was  Shaw  and  not  Tijou 
whose  statue  was  selected  to  represent  English 
smithcraft  on  the  fagade  of  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
Museum,  and  in  other  ways  he  has  suffered  injustice 
due  to  errors.  But  that  hardly  explains  why  Tijou's 
name  should  not  be  as  well  known  as  that  of  Grinling 
Gibbons,  his  contemporary  and  fellow  worker  under 
Wren,  with  whom  he  may  be  favorably  compared 
as  an  artist.  Mr.  Gardner  appears  inclined  to 
attribute  the  fact  to  a  deliberate  attempt  on  the 
part  of  Tijou's  contemporaries  to  ignore  him.  Wren 
never  mentioned  Tijou  once  in  his  memoirs  or  else- 


82  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

where,  while  he  was  not  at  all  niggardly  in  his  praise 
of  Gibbons.  Evelyn  and  other  writers  of  the  period 
frequently  mention  Gibbons  and  others;  they  pass 
over  Tij ou's  name  in  silence.  Tijou  retained  the 
favour  of  William  and  Mary  and  Queen  Anne,  and  he 
obtained  plenty  of  private  commissions  for  work; 
he  was  apparently  no  social  outlaw.  The  matter  is 
inexplicable,  but  the  fact  remains  that  history  has 
slighted  him,  and  it  is  high  time  to  make  amends. 

For  Tijou  stands  at  the  head  of  his  craft  among  the 
creators  of  English  styles.  His  designs  for  balus- 
trades, balconies,  screens,  gates,  staircases,  railings, 
panels,  and  smaller  objects  are  conceded  to  be  the 
finest  examples  of  decorative  ironwork  in  England. 
He  exerted  an  immense  and  immediate  effect  on  the 
craft,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  his  influence 
extended  to  other  fields  as  well. 

Undoubtedly  he  shared  with  Gibbons  an  oppor- 
tunity such  as  is  given  to  few  men,  but  he  made  the 
most  of  it.  A  clever  draughtsman,  a  consummate 
artist  in  a  difficult  medium,  with  an  extraordinary 
feeling  for  perfection  of  ornament,  his  name  deserves 
a  place  among  those  of  the  masters. 
•  The  Classic  creed  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren  and  the 
foreign  influences  introduced  by  Marot,  Gibbons, 
and  Tijou,  produced  an  almost  equal  effect  on  the 


JEAN  TIJOU  83 

furniture  design  of  the  period.  During  the  reigns  of 
Queen  Anne  and  George  I  these  elements  were  largely 
assimilated  and  Anglicized,  but  there  remained  a 
freedom  from  trammelling  restraint  which  Sir  Wil- 
liam Chambers  and  Thomas  Chippendale  took  advan- 
tage of,  for  they,  too,  borrowed  from  foreign  sources, 
until  Robert  Adam  and  the  later  Georgians  intro- 
duced a  revival  of  the  Classic  spirit  that  was  more 
nearly  akin  to  that  of  Wren. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THOMAS  CHIPPENDALE 

{Circa  1710-1779) 

THE  Georgian  Period,  comprising  roughly  the 
last  three-quarters  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
was  a  golden  age  in  the  development  of  Eng- 
lish style,  and  the  names  of  the  masters  are  many. 
Architecture  and  the  various  crafts  and  industrial 
arts  received  a  strong  forward  impetus.  Sir  William 
Chambers,  Thomas  Chippendale,  Robert  and  James 
Adam,  George  Hepplewhite,  Josiah  Wedgwood,  and 
other  contemporary  designers,  craftsmen,  architects, 
and  connoisseurs  all  added  their  personalities  to  the 
styles  of  the  period,  and  from  a  chronological  point 
of  view  it  matters  little  which  of  them  is  given  first 
consideration.  But  since  of  all  the  applied  arts  of 
the  time  furniture-making  seems  to  have  left  the 
most  lasting  impression,  it  may  be  most  logical  to 
give  primary  consideration  to  Thomas  Chippendale, 
the  first  and  most  famous  of  the  Georgian  cabinet- 
makers, and  the  first  English  craftsman  to  rob  the 
reigning  sovereign  of  the  prerogative  of  giving  his 
name  to  a  period. 


THOMAS   CHIPPENDALE  85 

The  transition  from  the  Queen  Anne  to  the 
Georgian  styles  was  gradual  and  Chippendale's 
early  work  was  done  in  this  early  Georgian  or 
transition  manner,  before  the  Chippendale  period  ac- 
tually began.  The  furniture  of  this  time  showed 
a  tendency  to  drop  the  Dutch  characteristics  of  the 
Queen  Anne  period.  Chair  backs  became  somewhat 
shorter  and  more  varied  in  outline.  The  cabriole 
leg  persisted,  to  be  sure,  but  the  ball-and-claw  su- 
perseded the  Dutch  splay  foot. 

This  transition  period,  too,  was  marked  by  the 
gradual  substitution  of  mahogany  for  walnut  as 
the  fashionable  cabinet  wood.  Mahogany  furni- 
ture was  probably  made  in  England  as  early  as 
1715,  but  did  not  reach  the  zenith  of  its  popularity 
until  about  1745.  It  is  too  much  to  say  that  Chip- 
pendale made  mahogany  popular;  perhaps  it  was  the 
mahogany  that  made  Chippendale  popular.  At 
any  rate,  the  new  taste  found  its  highest  expression 
at  his  hands  in  the  new  wood.  He  began  work- 
ing obscurely  in  walnut  and  other  woods  in  the  tran- 
sition styles  about  1730,  and  did  not  emerge  with  a  real 
style  of  his  own  until  about  1745,  when  he  adapted 
mahogany  to  the  uses  of  French  rococo  carving. 
His  greatest  influence  as  a  creator  of  style  extended 
from  1750  to  1770. 


86  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

The  date  of  Thomas  Chippendale's  birth  is  not 
known.  He  is  said  to  have  been  born  in  Worcester- 
shire about  1710.  and  to  have  been  the  son  of  Thomas 
Chippendale,  a  cabinet-maker,  wood  carver,  and 
maker  of  mirror  frames.  Thomas  the  younger  very 
likely  learned  his  trade  from  his  father,  and  it  is 
quite  possible  that  the  father  originated  some  of 
the  styles  that  were  later  developed  by  the  son 
into  a  Chippendale  type. 

Information  regarding  his  early  life  is  scanty. 
Father  and  son  moved  to  London  about  1727. 
Thomas  married  Catherine  Redshaw,  of  St.  Mar- 
tin's-in-the-Fields,  on  May  19,  1748.  In  1749  we 
find  him  established  in  a  shop  in  Conduit  Street, 
Long  Acre,  London.  In  1753  he  moved  to  60  St. 
Martin's  Lane,  where  he  took  three  houses  adja- 
cent to  his  own  and  established  a  large  cabinet- 
making  and  upholstery  business. 

In  1755  he  was  burned  out,  but  rebuilt  at  once. 
At  that  time  he  was  employing  twenty-two  work- 
men; later  his  employees  are  said  to  have  numbered 
a  hundred.  Here  he  lived  during  the  rest  of  his  life. 
In  1760  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Society  for 
the  Encouragement  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Com- 
merce. For  a  time  he  was  in  partnership  with  James 
Rannil,  who  died  in  1766. 


One  of  the  Chinese  buildings  in  Kew  Gardens  designed  by  Chambers 


THOMAS  CHIPPENDALE  87 

Chippendale  started  in  business  as  a  cabinet-maker. 
Later  he  became  also  an  interior  decorator  and  general 
furnisher,  executing  his  own  designs  and  also  those  of 
Adam  and  others.  In  1752  he  had  some  of  his  designs 
printed,  and  issued  the  first  edition  of  his  book,  '  'The 
Gentleman  and  Cabinet  Maker's  Director,"  in  1754. 
The  second  edition  appeared  in  folios  during  1759, 
1760,  and  1761,  and  these  were  brought  together  in 
book  form  in  1762  as  a  third  edition.  Of  these  books, 
which  became  very  popular  and  which  had  much  to  do 
with  his  fame,  I  will  speak  again  later. 

Thomas  Chippendale  died  on  November  13,  1779, 
and  was  buried  at  the  Church  of  St.  Martin' s-in- 
the-Fields.  He  left  a  widow,  Elizabeth,  apparently 
his  second  wife,  besides  three  sons  and  a  daughter. 
His  eldest  son,  Thomas,  carried  on  the  business 
successfully  until  1796  in  partnership  with  Thomas 
Haig,  a  former  bookkeeper  of  Chippendale's. 

Of  the  private  life  and  character  of  Thomas  Chip- 
pendale we  know  surprisingly  little,  considering  his 
prominence  in  his  craft  and  the  influence  which  he 
exerted  on  the  fashions  of  his  time.  He  was  evidently 
no  aspirant  for  social  dist'nction,  though  in  the 
course  of  his  life  he  mingled  with  the  nobility  and 
with  families  of  wealth.  He  was  a  quiet  man,  at- 
tending strictly  to  business,  and  ever  industrious. 


88  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

He  possessed  a  combination  of  business  ability  and 
the  ideals  of  craftsmanship  to  a  greater  degree  than 
any  of  his  contemporaries,  and  was  the  most  suc- 
cessful of  them  all.  He  was,  first  of  all,  a  born 
and  trained  artisan,  and,  second,  a  progressive  busi- 
ness man  capable  of  managing  affairs  on  a  large 
scale.  As  an  artist,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word, 
he  perhaps  fell  short  of  the  highest  distinction,  for 
he  lacked  something  of  the  touch  of  original  in- 
spiration, though  he  possessed  a  remarkable  feel- 
ing for  line  and  proportion. 

It  was  a  noteworthy  fact  regarding  the  cabinet- 
makers of  the  period  that  they  were  able  to  pub- 
lish their  trade  catalogues  at  a  profit,  which  indi- 
cates the  popular  demand  for  better  things  in 
household  furnishings.  Chippendale  was  not  the 
first  to  publish  such  a  book,  nor  was  he  the  first  in  the 
field  with  the  type  of  designs  that  made  him  famous. 
As  early  as  1719  William  Halfpenny  began  publish- 
ing his  designs,  and  the  following  published  books 
prior  to  Chippendale's:  William  Jones  in  1739,  Batty 
&  Langley  in  1740,  Abraham  Swain  in  1745,  Edwards 
&  Darley  in  1750,  Thomas  Johnson  in  1750,  Mattheas 
Lock  in  1752,  William  Halfpenny  the  younger  in 
1750-52.  Many  of  these,  notably  Johnson,  Lock, 
Halfpenny,  and  later  Ince  &  Mayhew,  published  de- 


THOMAS  CHIPPENDALE  89 

signs  in  the  same  French,  Gothic,  and  Chinese  styles 
that  Chippendale  used. 

Chippendale's  "Director"  sold  for  £3  13s  6d. 
Copies  are  worth  to-day  from  $50  to  $100.  It  was 
the  most  extensive  and  important  of  the  books  of 
the  sort  published  up  to  that  time.  The  full  title 
was  "The  Gentleman  and  Cabinet  Maker's  Director, 
being  a  large  collection  of  the  most  elegant  and 
useful  designs  of  household  furniture  in  the  most 
fashionable  taste."  It  contained  upward  of  200 
plates  in  the  1762  edition,  and  was  signed  "Thomas 
Chippendale,  cabinet-maker  and  upholsterer,  Lon- 
don." The  designs  included  chairs,  sofas,  beds 
and  couches,  tables  and  stands,  dressing  tables  and 
commodes,  library  tables  and  desks,  chamber  organs, 
library  bookcases,  cabinets,  candle  stands,  lanterns 
and  chandeliers,  fire  screens,  brackets,  tall  and 
bracket  clock  cases,  pier  glasses,  picture  and  mirror 
frames,  girandoles,  chimneypieces,  stove  grates,  and 
various  ornaments. 

Chippendale  was  less  an  originator  of  styles  than 
an  adapter  and  a  close  observer  of  the  trend  of  the 
times.  He  developed,  improved,  and  beautified  the 
styles  which  the  popular  taste  demanded  to  a  greater 
extent  than  any  of  his  contemporaries  except  Adam 
and  Hepplewhite,  who  followed  somewhat  different 


90  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

lines.  The  designs  of  his  contemporaries  show  the 
same  tendencies  of  taste — French,  Gothic,  and 
Chinese. 

He  began  first  with  late  Queen  Anne  types,  mak- 
ing bandy-legged,  fiddle-back  chairs,  among  other 
things,  very  broad  in  the  seat  and  with  ball-and- 
claw  feet.  As  the  style  of  the  transition  period  ad- 
vanced, Chippendale  improved  this  style,  piercing 
the  splat,  enriching  his  work  with  rococo  carving 
after  the  French  manner,  beautifying  the  cabriole 
leg,  and  adopting  a  squarer  form  of  chair  back  with 
rounded  corners,  to  be  followed  soon  by  the  bow- 
shaped  or  slightly  curved  top  rail  which  became  an 
essential  characteristic  of  many  of  his  chairs.  Thus, 
gradually,  his  style  became  more  and  more  French  in 
type. 

Up  to  this  time  Chippendale  had  worked  largely  in 
walnut,  but  the  demand  for  mahogany  and  finer 
carving  became  irresistible,  and  Chippendale  cut 
his  cloth  to  fit  his  patrons. 

The  attempts  that  are  often  made  to  divide  Chip- 
pendale's work  into  three  distinct  periods — Anglo- 
Dutch,  French,  and  Chinese-Gothic — are  somewhat 
misleading,  for,  though  fashions  changed,  there  were 
no  such  sharp  divisions  as  these.  He  began  to 
design  furniture  in  the  Louis  XV  manner  about 


THOMAS   CHIPPENDALE  91 

1745,  and  he  continued  to  produce  French  designs 
up  to  the  day  of  his  death.  He  was  wise  in  his  se- 
lection of  French  motifs.  In  some  cases  he  actually 
copied  French  designs.  He  used  rococo  carving 
freely,  though  it  was  always  well  executed.  His 
best  work  is  found  in  the  fairly  unmixed  French 
designs  of  1750-60.  After  that  the  combination  of 
rococo  and  Chinese,  with  a  dash  of  Gothic,  proved 
too  much  for  him. 

During  his  best  period,  when  he  made  his  famous 
ribbon-back  chairs,  mahogany  rose  to  the  height  of 
its  popularity.  He  still  made  his  ladder-back  chairs 
and  other  pieces  in  walnut  occasionally,  but  his 
more  fashionable  customers  demanded  mahogany, 
and  this  was  the  material  he  used  in  his  more  elab- 
orate and  expensive  work.  It  proved  to  be  the  best 
possible  medium  for  the  pierced  backs  of  his  French 
chairs  with  their  somewhat  intricate  carving,  and 
for  the  even  more  involved  work  of  his  Chinese 
mirror  frames  and  other  pieces.  He  preferred  a 
rich,  dark  mahogany  of  uniform  colour  and  grain. 
Even  after  the  popularity  of  walnut  waned  he  con- 
tinued to  use  it  to  some  extent,  as  well  as  maple, 
cherry,  and  birch.  But  it  was  Chippendale  who  dis- 
covered and  developed  the  wonderful  qualities  of 
mahogany  and  first  learned  how  to  use  it  to  its 


92  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

greatest  advantage.  Many  of  his  chairs  in  the 
Chinese  style,  made  to  suit  a  popular  taste,  were  of 
beech,  perhaps  for  cheapness.  It  may  have  been 
for  this  purpose,  too,  that  straight,  square  legs 
began  to  appear  more  and  more  frequently  on  his 
chairs  and  tables. 

Some  of  the  best  of  Chippendale's  designs  ap- 
peared in  the  first  edition  of  his  book.  The  last 
edition  shows  a  decided  deterioration  and  a  leaning 
toward  grotesque  mixtures  of  style — Chinese  ugli- 
ness and  rococo  extravagance.  It  is  only  fair  to 
say,  however,  that  Chippendale's  cabinet  work  was 
better  than  his  books  of  designs.  It  is  doubtful  if 
he  ever  executed  half  of  these  himself,  while  it  is 
known  that  he  made  a  good  deal  of  furniture  to 
order,  drawing  exclusive  designs  not  to  be  found 
in  his  books  at  all,  and  that  in  such  furniture  we 
find  him  at  his  best. 

It  is  rather  surprising  that  in  an  age  when  good 
taste  was  so  noticeable  in  England,  the  Chinese  and 
Gothic  fads  should  have  taken  so  strong  a  hold, 
and  that  Chippendale  should  have  allowed  himself 
to  be  so  completely  swayed  by  the  popular  vogue. 
It  shows  that  he  was  a  follower  rather  than  a  leader. 
Both  these  styles,  if  they  may  be  dignified  by  the 
name,  were  ephemeral,  but  they  made  a  strong 


THOMAS  CHIPPENDALE  93 

impression  while  they  lasted.  Neither  the  Chinese 
nor  the  Gothic  designs  in  vogue  were  true  to  au- 
thentic originals,  but  Chippendale's  clientele  evi- 
dently did  not  include  many  sticklers  for  purity  of 
style,  and  he  failed  to  rise  above  them. 

In  the  Chinese  introductions,  it  matters  little 
whether  Chippendale  followed  the  lead  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam Chambers  or  vice  versa.  The  taste  for  Chinese 
effects  had  been  popular  for  some  time,  due  to  the 
growth  of  England's  trade  with  the  Orient.  Chinese 
lacquer  and  imitations  of  it,  as  well  as  Chinese  porce- 
lains and  other  objects,  had  been  in  vogue  since  the 
previous  century.  Chippendale's  Chinese  designs 
were  in  great  variety,  and  were  characterized  by  pa- 
goda tops,  latticework,  straight  legs,  fretwork  carv- 
ing, and  elaborate  ornamentation.  The  patterns  in 
Gothic  feeling  were  in  response  to  a  sort  of  Gothic 
revival  about  1750,  due  largely  to  the  influence  of 
Sir  Horace  Walpole  and  his  vagaries  at  Strawberry 
Hill. 

Chippendale's  shop  turned  out  in  considerable 
quantities  chairs,  card  tables,  sofas  and  settees, 
desks,  bureaus,  cabinets,  bookcases,  tea  stands 
mirror  cases,  and  some  beds  and  long  clock  cases. 
He  was  at  his  best  in  his  chairs,  and  their  designs 
display  a  wonderful  variety  of  detail.    In  most  cases 


94  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

they  satisfy  the  artistic  sense.  In  his  early  ones  the 
backs  were  more  open  and  the  lines  better  suited  to 
the  human  anatomy  than  those  of  the  Queen  Anne 
period.  His  splats  were  always  joined  to  the  seats 
and  not  to  crosspieces.  Most  characteristic  were 
his  French  types,  the  ladder-back,  and  those  with 
Chinese  fretwork  and  Gothic  patterns  in  the  backs. 
His  typical  chair  legs  included  the  cabriole,  with 
rococo  carving  and  the  ball-in-claw  foot,  the  straight, 
square  leg,  and  the  carved  Chinese  leg,  also  straight. 
Many  of  his  settees  were  made  like  two  or  three  of  his 
chairs  joined  side  by  side. 

His  card  tables  usually  had  cabriole  legs,  intri- 
cately carved,  with  ball-and-claw  feet,  or  the  straight 
Chinese  legs.  He  made  long  serving  tables,  but  no 
sideboards,  the  sideboard  being  a  later  introduction 
of  Hepplewhite  and  Shearer.  His  beds  were  as 
elaborate  as  those  of  Daniel  Marot  in  their  way, 
often  having  pagoda  tops  and  showing  mixed  styles, 
mostly  bad.  His  mirror  frames,  in  French  rococo  and 
Chinese  carving  and  pierced  work,  were  very  elaborate, 
and  were  often  made  of  pine  and  gilded.  He  made  a 
few  walnut  and  mahogany  clock  cases,  though  most  of 
the  clock  cases  attributed  to  him  were  undoubtedly 
made  by  his  imitators.  He  is  known  to  have  ex- 
ecuted a  few  elaborately  carved  overmantels. 


THOMAS  CHIPPENDALE  95 

So  many  of  his  designs  were  used  by  others  that  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  identify  Chippendale's  own 
work.  Some  pieces  in  his  style  were  even  executed  in 
America.  A  few  chairs,  small  fretted  tables,  book- 
cases, and  screens  are  about  all  that  we  can  surely 
assert  were  turned  out  by  the  master.  Known  work 
of  his  is  to  be  found  in  England  in  Claydon  House, 
the  seat  of  the  Verneys  in  Buckinghamshire,  which 
contains  chambers  by  him  executed  in  the  Chinese 
style;  in  Harewood  House,  Yorkshire,  which  also 
contains  some  of  Adam's  work;  at  Stourhead  in 
Wiltshire,  and  Rowton  Castle  in  Shropshire.  Some 
of  this  made-to-order  work  was  very  fine,  while 
some  was  elaborately  upholstered,  gilded,  painted, 
lacquered,  and  mounted  with  metal — often  in  very 
bad  taste  and  very  expensive.  But  here  again  we 
must  blame  the  client  as  much  as  the  craftsman. 

In  his  regular  trade  work,  Chippendale  used  gild- 
ing on  his  mirror  frames,  chimneypieces,  girandoles, 
etc.,  but  he  usually  avoided  paint,  gilding,  japan, 
or  inlay  except  on  specially  ordered  work.  For  his 
ornamentation  he  depended  almost  entirely  on  carv- 
ing. His  construction  was  generally  solid,  strong, 
and  honest,  his  materials  the  best  obtainable. 

To  endeavour  to  form  a  comparative  estimate  of 
Chippendale's  place  among  the  creators  of  English 


96  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

style  is  a  thankless  task.  His  work  has  been  both 
praised  inordinately  and  abused  unjustly.  It  is 
largely  a  matter  of  taste.  But  he  hgts  been  generally 
considered  to  be  England's  greatest  cabinet-maker, 
and  the  judgment  of  the  years  must  count  for  much. 
For  my  own  part,  I  fail  to  gain  the  same  thrill 
of  satisfaction  from  a  contemplation  of  his  work  as 
from  the  more  restrained  and  chaste  productions  of 
Sheraton,  Hepplewhite,  and  our  own  Duncan  Phyfe. 
No  man  who  dealt  with  such  a  perfect  chaos  of  style 
deserves,  it  seems  to  me,  the  very  highest  rank,  and 
I  cannot  help  feeling  that  he  has  been  generally  over- 
estimated. He  was  the  great  borrower,  the  great 
adapter,  and,  as  a  rule,  he  improved  upon  what  he 
borrowed.  He  was  the  chief  figure  of  a  remarkable 
school  of  craftsmen.    Let  him  retain  his  laurels. 

One  critic  calls  attention  to  these  facts:  Chip- 
pendale's style  was  generally  heavier  and  less  severe 
in  ornamentation  than  the  slender  and  tasteful  de- 
signs of  Hepplewhite  and  Sheraton.  Though  elab- 
orate and  often  delicate,  his  designs  were  over- 
wrought and  lacking  in  architectural  feeling.  Though 
usually  considered  the  master  of  them  all,  he  does  not 
survive  the  most  searching  tests.  In  general,  he 
reflected  the  culture  of  his  day  with  more  virility 
than  his  French  and  English  contemporaries. 


An  Ionic  temple  in  Kew  Gardens  as  designed  by  Chambers 


Robert   Adam,   after  a  painting  in  the  Royal  Institute  of  British 

Architects 


THOMAS  CHIPPENDALE  97 

It  was  Thomas  Sheraton  who,  in  1793,  said  of  his 
work:  "As  for  the  designs  themselves,  they  are  now 
wholly  antiquated  and  laid  aside,  though  possessed 
of  great  merit  according  to  the  times  in  which  they 
were  executed."  Sic  transit  gloria  mundi.  For  Chip- 
pendale's fame  did  fade  rather  abruptly,  not  to]  be 
revived  for  a  century,  and  other  styles  superseded 
his.  Those  who  immediately  followed  him — Ince 
&  Mayhew,  Robert  Manwaring,  and  others — did 
little  more  than  copy  him,  but  about  1765  a  reaction 
to  the  Classic  set  in  and  Robert  Adam  came  into  his 
own,  with  Hepplewhite,  Shearer,  and  Sheraton,  fol- 
lowing the  trend  of  the  times  into  paths  of  greater 
restraint  and  delicacy  of  feeling. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


SIR  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS 

(1726-1796) 

OF  THE  English  architects  of  the  Georgian 
Period,  the  two  greatest  were  undoubtedly 
Robert  Adam,  who  pouplarized  a  revival  of 
Classic  forms,  and  Sir  William  Chambers,  who 
typified  the  ultra-fashionable  taste  of  his  time.  In 
many  respects  Chambers's  life  and  personality  are 
more  interesting  than  his  work,  though  he  exercised, 
by  reason  of  his  talents  and  social  position,  a  strong 
influence  on  the  styles  of  that  day. 

His  grandfather  was  a  Scotchman  who  had  sup- 
plied Charles  XII,  King  of  Sweden,  with  military 
stores  and  money.  Sweden  repudiated  this  debt, 
with  others,  and  Chambers's  father  went  to  Sweden 
to  recover  what  he  could  of  the  lost  fortune.  William 
was  born  in  Stockholm  in  1726. 

The  family  returned  to  England  in  1728  and  set- 
tled in  Ripon,  in  Yorkshire,  where  William  re- 
ceived his  school  education.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
the  boy,  who  had  a  taste  for  travel  and  adventure, 
shipped  as  super-cargo  in  a  ship  of  the  Swedish 

98 


SIR  WILLIAM   CHAMBERS  99 

East  India  Company,  and  made  at  least  one  trip 
to  China.  He  had  a  natural  interest  in  design  and 
some  skill  in  drawing  even  at  this  age,  and  while 
at  Canton  he  made  numerous  sketches  of  Chinese 
buildings,  gardens,  costumes,  etc.  It  is  probable 
that  he  made  one  other  voyage  to  the  Orient,  and 
in  some  way  he  acquired  a  working  knowledge  of 
architecture. 

William's  brother,  John,  also  went  to  sea  and  sub- 
sequently acquired  a  large  fortune  in  the  East  In- 
dia trade,  but  William  decided  against  a  com- 
mercial career.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  quitted 
the  sea  to  devote  his  attention  to  the  study  of  archi- 
tecture. Two  or  three  years  later  he  went  to  Italy, 
where  he  made  a  study  of  Roman  ruins  and  also 
the  work  of  Palladio  and  other  Italian  architects  of 
the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  making  a  large 
number  of  measured  drawings.  From  Italy  he  went 
to  Paris,  where  he  studied  French  architecture  un- 
der Clerisseau,  from  whom  he  gained  also  great 
skill  with  the  pencil. 

Chambers  returned  to  England  in  1755,  in  the 
company  of  Cipriani  and  Joseph  Wilton,  the  sculp- 
tor, whose  beautiful  daughter  he  soon  after  mar- 
ried. He  started  his  career  as  a  practising  archi- 
tect in  Russell  Street,  London,  near  Covent  Garden, 


100  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

later  taking  a  house  in  Poland  Street.  He  pos- 
sessed but  a  small  fortune,  but  the  merit  of  his 
work,  his  facility  in  making  influential  acquain- 
tances, and  the  good  luck  which  attended  him 
through  life,  secured  for  him  the  patronage  of  Lord 
Bute  and  Mr.  John  Carr  of  York,  who  introduced 
him  to  the  royal  family  and  secured  for  him  the 
position  of  drawing  master  to  the  heir  apparent. 

Chambers's  first  work  of  importance  was  a  villa 
for  Lord  Bessborough  at  Roehampton  in  Surrey,  the 
portico  of  which  was  particularly  admired.  In  1757 
he  published  his  first  book.  It  consisted  of  en- 
gravings made  from  the  sketches  he  had  executed 
in  Canton,  and  was  called  "  Designs  for  Chinese 
Buildings,  etc."  His  taste  in  this  was  much  criti- 
cized at  the  time,  but  the  book  at  least  served  to 
bring  him  into  greater  prominence.  The  designs 
apparently  appealed  to  the  Princess  Dowager  Au- 
gusta of  Wales,  for  she  engaged  him  as  architect 
for  the  gardens  of  her  new  villa  or  palace  at  Kew. 
This  work  occupied  him  from  1757  to  1762,  and 
made  his  reputation  as  the  most  fashionable  archi- 
tect of  his  time. 

In  1759  he  published  his  "Treatise  on  the  Dec- 
orative Part  of  Civil  Architecture,"  which  was  en- 
thusiastically received  and  which,  in  many  respects, 


SIR  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS  101 

was  his  most  notable  work.  It  contains  an  appre- 
ciation of  Greek  architecture  which  has  become  a 
classic,  and  the  book,  which  has  been  republished 
many  times,  is  still  one  of  the  standards.  "A  Treat- 
ise on  the  Five  Orders  of  Architecture,"  by  Fred 
T.  Hodgson,  a  valuable  and  practical  work  of  ref- 
erence published  as  recently  as  1910,  is  based  upon 
Chambers  and  is  illustrated  with  Chambers's  draw- 
ings. Though  the  work  at  Kew  Gardens  had  brought 
him  into  prominence,  it  was  this  book,  the  most 
useful  volume  on  the  science  of  architecture  which 
had  appeared  up  to  that  time,  that  firmly  established 
his  reputation  both  as  an  author  and  as  an  archi- 
tect of  judgment,  scholarship,  and  taste. 

In  1761  he  became  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Artists  and  began  to  exhibit  with  them  at  Spring 
Gardens. 

The  work  at  Kew  Gardens  so  pleased  the  royal 
family  that  in  1763  Chambers  published  a  book  con- 
taining his  designs  and  descriptions  of  them.  This 
aroused  considerable  controversy  among  the  critics. 
The  complete  title  of  the  work  was  "Plans,  Eleva- 
tions, Sections,  and  Perspective  Views  of  the  Gar- 
dens and  Buildings  at  Kew  in  Surrey,  the  Seat  of 
Her  Royal  Highness,  the  Princess  Dowager  of 
Wales." 


102  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

In  1768  Chambers  was  largely  instrumental  in 
founding  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts.  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds  became  its  first  president  and  Chambers 
its  first  treasurer. 

In  1771  Chambers  sent  a  set  of  finished  drawings 
of  his  Kew  designs  to  the  King  of  Swreden,  who  made 
him  a  Knight  of  the  Pole  Star.  George  III  of 
England,  who  had  been  the  architect's  pupil  when 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  who  undoubtedly  had  be- 
come much  attached  to  his  tutor,  allowed  him  to 
assume  the  title  of  knight  in  England,  and  he  be- 
came Sir  William.  The  king  also  appointed  Cham- 
bers chief  architect.  Under  Burke's  regime  he  was 
also  appointed  Comptroller  of  His  Majesty's  Works, 
and  later,  Surveyor-General. 

In  1772  he  published  "A  Dissertation  on  Oriental 
Gardening,"  and  as  before,  wThen  he  ventured  into 
the  realm  of  Chinese  design,  he  aroused  much  ad- 
verse criticism.  Undoubtedly  he  went  too  far,  some 
of  his  statements  being  quite  absurd,  but  his  offi- 
cial position  saved  him  from  serious  loss  of  repu- 
tation. 

In  1774  Chambers  revisited  Paris  and  in  1775  he 
was  appointed  architect  of  Somerset  House,  his 
greatest  monument,  at  a  salary  of  £2,000  a  year. 
The  present  structure  is  his  design,  the  Strand 


SIR  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS  103 

front  being  an  enlarged  and  improved  copy  of  an 
old  palace  built  by  Inigo  Jones. 

Chambers  lived  for  many  years  in  Poland  Street 
and  then  built  himself  a  house  in  Berners  Street. 
Later  he  moved  to  Norton  Street,  where  he  died. 
He  also  had  an  official  residence  at  Hampton  Court 
Palace  and  a  country  house  near  Hounslow  called 
Whitton  Place. 

He  gradually  retired  from  active  life  and  business 
and  spent  his  latter  years  in  the  enjoyment  of  his 
many  friendships.  He  was  a  sufferer  from  asthma, 
and  after  a  long  and  severe  illness  he  died  on  March 
8,  1796,  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  buried  in  the  Poets'  Corner,  Westminster  Ab- 
bey. He  left  a  considerable  fortune  to  one  son  and 
four  daughters. 

Chambers  was  a  man  of  marked  social  gifts, 
which  helped  to  make  his  career  successful.  He 
was  a  man  of  taste  and  culture,  and  he  exerted  a 
considerable  influence  on  cabinet-making  and  interior 
decoration  as  well  as  architecture.  He  had  a  host 
of  distinguished  friends,  including  Dr.  Johnson, 
Goldsmith,  Reynolds,  Burney,  and  Garrick,  and 
spent  much  of  his  leisure  time  at  the  Architects' 
Society,  which  met  at  Thatched  House  Tavern. 

Chambers's  fame  as  an  architect  rests  chiefly  on 


104  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

his  work  at  Somerset  House  and  the  summer  houses 
in  Kew  Gardens.  These  latter,  following  the  doubt- 
ful taste  of  the  Princess,  included  both  Classic  and 
Oriental  designs — Roman  temples  and  Chinese  and 
Turkish  treatments.  The  most  important  of  them 
was  the  famous  pagoda  which  is  still  standing,  a 
tall  structure  not  without  grace  of  line  and  detail. 
These  buildings  have  been  so  widely  criticized,  both 
favourably  and  unfavourably,  that  his  really  able  and 
clever  work  in  landscaping  at  Kew  has  been  often 
lost  sight  of. 

At  Somerset  House,  which  Chambers  recon- 
structed, he  worked  in  a  more  serious  and  perman- 
ent style.  There  were  some  incongruities  in  it, 
and  he  felt  it  necessary  to  remove  the  famous  fa- 
cade of  Inigo  Jones  at  the  water  front,  for  which 
he  was  obliged  to  undergo  much  adverse  criticism. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  a  great  work  in  which  he  kept 
alive  the  Classic  tradition. 

Robert  Adam,  whose  life  and  work  will  be  dis- 
cussed in  the  next  chapter,  was  a  more  popular  archi- 
tect than  Chambers,  but  the  latter  managed  to  se- 
cure a  goodly  portion  of  the  fashionable  work  of  the 
day.  He  built  a  number  of  town  and  country  houses 
of  distinction  for  men  of  wealth  and  title.  Among 
these  was  the  villa  of  the  Earl  of  Bessborough  at 


SIR  WILLIAM  CHAMBERS  105 

Roehampton,  the  Earl  of  Pembroke's  seat  at  Wilton, 
and  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  house  at  Bloomsbury. 
He  designed  and  built  mansions  for  Earl  Gower 
at  Whitehall,  for  Lord  Milbourne  in  Piccadilly,  for 
Lord  Abercorn  and  Viscount  Midleton.  He  was 
also  employed  by  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  at  Blen- 
heim. He  built  Duddingston  House  near  Edin- 
burgh, and  in  Ireland  a  fine  casino  for  Lord  Charle- 
mont  at  Marino,  near  Dublin.  He  also  designed  the 
market  house  at  Worcester. 

Among  his  recognized  masterpieces  were  the  stair- 
cases in  the  houses  of  Lord  Bessborough  and  Lord 
Gower  and  at  the  Royal  Antiquarian  Society.  The 
terrace  behind  Somerset  House  was  a  bold  and  suc- 
cessful composition. 

In  his  interior  work  Chambers  introduced  more 
graceful  lines  and  less  formal  ornament,  and  in  this 
field  doubtless  deserves  greater  credit  than  has  been 
generally  accorded  him.  It  was  Chambers  who 
introduced  the  often-misused  marble  mantel.  He 
also  designed  furniture  in  Chinese  and  other  styles. 
His  most  elaborate  piece  was  a  combined  bureau, 
dressing-case,  jewel  cabinet,  and  chamber  organ, 
made  for  Charles  IV  of  Spain  in  1793.  He  also 
designed  the  state  coach  for  George  III  of  England, 
which  is  now  in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum. 


106  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Chambers's  name  has  inevitably  been  associated 
most  often  with  the  whimsical  vogue  of  Chinese 
design  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  there  has  been 
considerable  useless  controversy  as  to  whether  Cham- 
bers or  Chippendale  was  chiefly  responsible  for  this. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  neither  of  them  was,  but  both 
merely  sought  to  satisfy  an  insistent  demand.  The 
fondness  in  England  for  things  Chinese  dates  back 
well  into  the  previous  century,  when  Oriental  impor- 
tations became  common  in  the  London  and  Liver- 
pool markets.  English  imitations  of  Oriental  lacquer 
were  popular  in  Queen  Anne's  time,  and  intermit- 
tently up  to  1780.  The  fashion  was  merely  revived 
by  Chambers  when  his  book  appeared  in  1757. 

Edwards  &  Darley,  Thomas  Johnson,  William 
Halfpenny,  and  others  had  manufactured  furniture 
in  the  so-called  Chinese  style  before  either  Chippen- 
dale or  Chambers  published  his  book.  Half- 
penny also  published  an  architectural  volume,  "New 
Designs  for  Chinese  Temples,"  etc.,  in  1750.  Chip- 
pendale's work  marked  rather  the  culmination  of 
the  Chinese  style  in  furniture,  and  Chambers's  in 
architecture.  The  aim  of  the  latter  was  to  correct 
popular  misapprehensions,  though  in  this  he  did  not 
greatly  succeed.  The  Chinese  in  vogue  consisted 
largely  of  poor  copies  of  the  decorations  on  Oriental 


SIR  WILLIAM   CHAMBERS  107 

paper  hangings  and  porcelain  and  slipshod  adapta- 
tions of  Chinese  styles  in  furniture.  Chambers  had 
measured  drawings  to  help  him,  though  he  never 
came  very  close  to  the  true  spirit  of  the  Chinese. 

But  though  Chambers  was  undoubtedly  fascinated 
by  the  Chinese  style,  he  nevertheless  gained  a  place 
among  those  masters  who  perpetuated  the  Classic 
traditions.  In  this  the  work  of  Robert  Adam  over- 
shadowed his,  but  in  his  more  chaste  and  conven- 
tional work  he  adhered  to  the  manner  of  Jones  and 
Wren.  His  exteriors  were  bold,  uniting  the  grandeur 
and  luxuriance  of  the  Roman,  Florentine,  and 
Genoese  schools  with  the  severe  correctness  of  the 
Venetian.  He  exhibited  no  startling  mannerisms, 
his  style  ranging  somewhere  between  the  ponderous, 
imposing  style  of  Vanbrugh  and  the  lighter,  mora 
chaste  style  of  Adam.  His  only  known  work  in  the 
Gothic  style  is  to  be  found  in  the  additions  and 
alterations  at  Milton  Abbey  in  Dorset. 

At  a  time  when  good  architecture  was  the  rule, 
Chambers  stood  with  Adam  in  the  first  rank,  in  spite 
of  his  mistakes  and  extravagances.  Though  not  an 
artist  of  great  originality  or  imagination,  he  was,  ex- 
cept for  his  Chinese  vagaries,  a  conservator  of  the 
best  traditions,  a  thorough  student  of  the  science  of 
architecture,  a  careful  designer,  and  a  clever  adapter. 


108  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

He  stood  always  just  a  little  in  advance  of  the 
fashions  of  the  day. 

Thomas  Hardwick,  his  most  sympathetic  bio- 
grapher, speaks  of  Chambers  as  genial  and  socially 
inclined,  and  says  of  him:  "The  natural  endowments 
of  his  mind,  accompanied  by  industry  and  persever- 
ance, and  above  all  by  integrity  and  honourable  con- 
duct through  life,  raised  him  to  the  head  of  his  pro- 
fession and  gained  him  the  esteem  and  veneration 
of  the  scholar,  the  admiration  of  the  artist,  and  the 
love  and  respect  of  those  who  looked  up  to  him  for 
protection  and  support."  Of  the  "Treatise"  Hard- 
wick says:  "The  truths  it  inculcates  and  the  propor- 
tion and  forms  it  recommends,  the  result  of  long  ex- 
perience and  repeated  observation  of  structures 
which  have  stood  the  test  of  centuries,  cannot  fail  to 
impress  upon  every  mind  that  there  is  a  criterion  of 
taste  in  architecture  as  well  as  in  the  other  liberal 
arts — that  genius  is  consistent  with  rules — and  that 
novelty  is  not  necessarily  an  improvement." 


CHAPTER  IX 


ROBERT  ADAM 

(1728-1792) 

THE  work  of  Robert  Adam  in  England  marks 
a  distinct  change  in  public  taste — the  over- 
throw of  most  of  what  Chippendale  stood 
for,  and  a  return  to  Classic  restraint  and  a  greater 
delicacy  and  chastity  of  ornament.  It  is  not  difficult 
to  account  for  this.  Both  France  and  England  were 
becoming  weary  of  rococo  and  baroque  extravagance, 
and  the  eyes  of  designers  were  turned  upon  Italy. 
The  public  had  become  familiar  with  the  results  of 
the  excavations  at  Herculaneum  after  1738,  with 
those  at  Pompeii  after  1748,  and  with  the  engravings 
of  Roman  designs  by  Giovanni  Piranesi  after  1748. 
People  were  becoming  more  familiar  with  the  Classic 
'styles. 

As  a  result,  we  have  in  France  the  revolt  from 
the  florid  style  of  Louis  XV  to  the  greater  severity 
and  restraint  of  Louis  XVI.  In  England,  which 
largely  followed  France  at  this  time,  we  find  a  cor- 
responding change,  which  was  formulated  and  or- 
ganized into  current  style  by  the  Adam  brothers. 

109 


110  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Many  English  architects,  decorators,  and  cabinet- 
makers followed  their  lead,  and  a  Classic  revival 
ensued.  Chinese,  Dutch,  and  rococo  were  banished 
together,  and  a  new  style  in  furniture  and  decora- 
tion caught  the  popular  fancy.  In  this  movement 
Robert  Adam  was  the  leader,  and  his  influence,  para- 
mount from  1764  to  1784,  persisted  for  half  a  cen- 
tury, strongly  affecting  the  work  of  Hepplewhite, 
Sheraton,  and  all  their  contemporaries. 

Robert  Adam,  the  most  prominent  of  a  gifted 
family,  was  the  second  of  six  children  of  William 
Adam,  a  Scotchman,  of  Maryburgh,  the  two  young- 
est being  daughters.  The  father  was  an  archi- 
tect of  distinction,  who  designed  Hopetoun  House, 
the  Royal  Infirmary  at  Edinburgh,  and  other  note- 
worthy buildings,  and  who  held  the  appointment  of 
King's  Mason  at  Edinburgh.  Robert  was  born  July 
3,  1728,  at  Kirkcaldy,  County  of  Fife,  Scotland. 
He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh 
and  later  studied  architecture  in  England. 

About  1754  he  started  for  a  tour  of  the  Conti- 
nent. Historians  differ  as  to  the  dates  of  his  itin- 
erary. It  is  generally  supposed  that  he  studied  in 
France  for  a  year  or  two  under  the  French  archi- 
tect, Clerisseau,  or  at  least  became  his  friend,  and 
he  may  have  made  several  trips  into  Italy.  Dated 


ROBERT  ADAM  111 

drawings  now  in  London  would  indicate  that  he 
was  at  Nimes,  France,  in  December,  1754,  near 
Genoa  in  January,  1755,  and  at  Rome  in  1756.  At 
any  rate,  in  1757  he  visited  Italy  with  Clerisseau 
and  two  draughtsmen,  and  made  a  number  of  draw- 
ings of  Roman  ruins.  From  Venice  he  went  to 
Spalatro  in  Dalmatia  to  study  the  ruins  of  the  Palace 
of  Diocletian  there.  Hitherto,  most  of  the  travelling 
architects  had  studied  the  ruins  of  public  buildings; 
Adam  desired  a  correct  idea  of  a  Classic  building 
of  a  residential  character.  His  credentials  proving 
defective,  he  was  arrested  as  a  spy,  but  was  released 
and  visited  the  ruins.  These  he  found  in  rather  bad 
condition,  but  he  made  complete  drawings  of  the 
fragments  in  five  weeks.  His  journal  of  this  trip 
was  published  in  the  "Library  of  Fine  Arts." 

He  continued  on  his  travels  a  few  months  longer 
and  then,  in  1758,  returned  to  England.  In  London 
he  established  himself  with  his  brother  James  as 
an  architect,  and  was  soon  widely  employed  by  the 
gentry  and  nobility,  becoming  a  more  popular  archi- 
tect than  Sir  William  Chambers.  He  became  a 
fellow  of  the  Royal  and  Antiquarian  Societies,  and 
on  December  2,  1761,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  he 
was  appointed  joint  architect  to  the  King  and  Queen 
with  Chambers. 


112  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

In  1764  he  published  a  folio  volume  of  engravings 
by  Bartolozzi  of  his  Dalmatian  drawings,  entitled 
"Ruins  of  the  Palace  of  the  Emperor  Diocletian  at 
Spalatro."  In  1768  he  resigned  his  royal  office  to 
become  a  member  of  Parliament  for  Kinross. 

In  1769  the  four  brothers  started  the  building  of 
the  Adelphi,  a  huge  collection  of  wharves,  arches, 
and  viaducts  on  the  Thames,  with  access  from  the 
Strand — the  first  great  office  building  in  London. 
They  overcame  serious  opposition,  but  the  building 
was  never  a  commercial  success.  In  the  end  it  was 
disposed  of  by  lottery,  and  the  brothers  are  sup- 
posed to  have  realized  a  substantial  profit. 

In  1773  R.  &  J.  Adam  began  the  publication  of 
their  "Works  in  Architecture"  in  folio  parts.  Vol- 
ume I,  brought  together  in  1778,  contained  The  Seat 
of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland  at  Sion,  The  Villa 
of  Earl  Mansfield  at  Kenwood,  The  Seat  of  the 
Earl  of  Bute  at  Luton  Park,  Public  Buildings,  and 
Designs  for  the  King  and  Queen  and  Princess  Do- 
wager of  Wales.  Volume  II,  published  in  1779, 
contained  The  House  of  the  Earl  of  Derby  in  Gros- 
venor  Square,  The  House  of  Sir  Watkin  Williams 
Wynn,  Bart.,  in  St.  James's  Square,  The  House  of  the 
Earl  of  Shelburne  in  Berkeley  Square,  The  Seat  of 
the  Duke  of  Northumberland  at  Sion  (continued), 


Mirror   frame   designed     Urn-shaped  knife-boxes  of  satinwood,  Adam 
by   Adam  style.    .Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 


Sedan  chair  for  Queen  Charlotte,  from  "The  Works  in  Architecture  of 

R.  &  J.  Adam" 


Chimneypiece  with  pewter  mountings  and  steel  grate,  designed  by  Adam. 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 


ROBERT  ADAM  113 

and  Various  Designs  of  Public  and  Private  Buildings. 
The  balance  of  the  firm's  more  important  drawings 
were  brought  out  in  a  posthumous  volume  in  1822. 
The  original  designs  of  the  firm  are  preserved  in  the 
Sloane  Museum.  There  are  thirty  volumes  of  them, 
three  of  which  are  devoted  to  furniture.  Miscellan- 
eous drawings  have  been  collected  and  published 
from  time  to  time  since. 

On  March  3rd,  1792,  Robert  Adam  burst  a  blood 
vessel  in  his  stomach  and  died  at  his  home  in  Albe- 
marle Street,  London.  He  was  buried  with  high 
honours  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

Robert's  brothers  all  achieved  distinction.  John, 
the  oldest,  remained  in  Scotland,  where  he  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  King's  Mason  in  Edinburgh. 
The  others  all  went  to  London.  Robert  was  always 
the  dominant  figure,  William,  the  youngest,  being 
little  more  than  his  assistant. 

James,  however,  would  have  been  an  architect  of 
note  in  any  event,  and  his  name  is  often  associated 
with  Robert's  in  giving  credit  for  the  Classic  revival. 
The  two  worked  together  on  almost  all  the  important 
works,  and  any  discussion  of  the  style  must  refer 
to  their  joint  product.  James  studied  abroad  shortly 
after  Robert's  return  to  England.  In  company  with 
Clerisseau  and  Zucchi,  he  visited,  in  1760-1,  Verona, 


114  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Padua,  Vicenza  (where  he  studied  the  works  of  Pal- 
ladio),  Venice,  Florence,  Pisa,  Rome,  Pompeii,  and 
Naples,  taking  notes  and  measurements,  and  making 
drawings.  He  was  appointed  Master  Mason  of  the 
Board  of  Ordnance  for  North  Britain,  and  on  Rob- 
ert's death  succeeded  him  as  royal  architect.  He  was 
the  author  of  "Practical  Essays  on  Agriculture" 
and  was  writing  a  history  of  architecture  when  he  died 
of  apoplexy  at  the  house  in  Albemarle  Street  on 
October  20,  1794. 

The  brothers  were  always  active  in  their  profes- 
sion, and  during  the  year  preceding  Robert's  death 
they  designed  no  less  than  eight  public  and  twenty- 
five  private  buildings.  Their  work  included  the 
restoration  of  part  of  Whitehall,  the  building  for  the 
Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts,  Manufac- 
tures, and  Commerce  in  John  Street,  work  on  the 
royal  palaces,  the  parish  church  at  Mistley,  Essex, 
the  Hall  of  Records  or  Registry  Office  in  Edin- 
burgh, the  British  Coffee  House,  London,  the  alter- 
ation and  redecoration  of  the  Theatre  Royal  in 
Drury  Lane,  new  buildings  for  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  White's  Club,  Caenwood  near  Hamp- 
stead,  Osterley  near  Brentford,  Lansdowne  House 
in  Berkeley  Square,  Luton  House  in  Bedfordshire, 
the  Infirmary  at  Glasgow,   and  numerous  town 


ROBERT  ADAM  115 

houses  in  Portland  Place,  Stratford  Place,  and  Fitz- 
roy  Square.  The  house  at  25  Portland  Place  was 
built  and  fitted  up  for  Robert  Adam's  own  use. 
Kedleston  Hall  in  Derbyshire,  in  spite  of  a  peculiar 
arrangement,  possesses  unusual  merit,  being  an 
adaptation  from  Palladio.  Perhaps  the  firm's  most 
celebrated  designs  are  those  of  the  college  buildings 
and  Registry  Office  at  Edinburgh.  They  are  well 
balanced  and  true  to  the  best  Classic  traditions. 

Robert  Adam's  name  is  known  as  much  for  his 
work  in  interior  decoration  and  furniture  design  as 
for  his  architecture.  His  room  arrangements,  his 
ornamental  ceilings  and  chirnneypieces,  and  his  fur- 
niture represent  a  greater  unity  and  architectonic 
quality  in  the  ensemble  than  is  to  be  found  in  the 
work  of  his  predecessors  or  contemporaries.  Nev- 
ertheless, he  was  an  architect  of  the  first  rank  and 
a  creator  of  the  Georgian  style.  His  exteriors  fol- 
lowed Palladio  in  effect,  being  rather  formal  in  their 
classicism  and  lacking  the  grace  that  distinguished 
the  work  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  He  patented  a 
stucco  for  covering  brick  walls,  which  he  used  with 
greater  success  than  did  the  architects  of  a  later 
period. 

His  decorative  work  was  rich,  refined,  chaste,  and 
probably  of  more  lasting  value  than  his  architec- 


116  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

ture.  The  Pompeiian  influence  is  strongly  apparent 
in  his  interiors,  which  are  generally  delicate  and  satis- 
fying, though  some  critics  call  them  attenuated, 
copying  the  delicacy  rather  than  the  richness  of  the 
antique.  Certain  it  is  that  he  had  a  rare  feeling  for 
perfection  of  detail  and  balance  of  ornament,  as  well  as 
for  the  value  of  open  spaces. 

Adam's  name  must  be  considered  along  with  the 
names  of  Chippendale,  Hepplewhite,  and  Sheraton 
in  the  development  of  English  furniture  styles,  though 
he  was  not  a  cabinet-maker.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  to  consider  furniture  fully  worthy  of  an  archi- 
tect's attention,  and  finding  nothing  to  fit  in  with 
his  Classic  interiors,  he  designed  it  to  suit  his  walls 
and  panels.  In  fact,  he  designed  the  entire  equip- 
ment of  many  houses,  down  to  counterpanes  and 
work-bags. 

These  furniture  designs  were  executed  for  the 
firm  by  cabinet-makers  of  the  period  and  go,  quite 
properly,  by  the  name  of  "Adam  furniture."  The 
quantity  of  it  being  relatively  small,  it  is  seldom 
to  be  found  in  this  country.  For  the  most  part  it 
is  Louis  XVI  in  type,  though  with  less  rectangu- 
larity.  In  1769  Adam  made  a  few  designs  with 
Chinese  details;  in  1772  he  used  a  lyre  back,  prob- 
ably borrowed  from  France,  and  later  employed  by 


Josiah  Wedgwood,  after  the  portrait  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds 


ROBERT  ADAM  117 

Sheraton  and  Phyfe;  in  1777  he  introduced  an  oval 
chair  back  with  a  touch  of  the  Empire  feeling,  sug- 
gestive of  Hepplewhite.  In  general,  however,  his 
designs  were  Classic  and  somewhat  formal.  As  a 
furniture  designer,  in  fact,  he  was  not  the  equal  of 
Hepplewhite,  Sheraton,  or  our  Duncan  Phyfe,  but 
he  paved  the  way  for  them  and  they  owed  him  the 
greatest  possible  debt. 

Adam's  chairs  were  simple  and  chaste,  lacking 
something  of  the  grace  that  distinguished  Shera- 
ton's. They  were  generally  small  and  fine,  with 
backs  low  and  narrow,  and  with  arms  but  slightly 
upholstered,  if  at  all.  The  legs  for  the  most  part 
were  straight,  the  cabriole  leg  being  entirely  aban- 
doned by  Adam.  Often  they  showed  a  Classic, 
sweeping  curve.  His  sofas  were  delicate  in  appear- 
ance, with  an  inclination  to  Classic  effects,  and  he 
designed  a  graceful  but  frail  and  comfortless  couch 
with  straight  arms  and  no  back. 

For  his  dining-rooms  Adam  designed  a  serving 
table  flanked  by  urns  on  pedestals,  which  was  later 
developed  into  the  sideboard  by  Shearer  and  Hepple- 
white. He  designed  also  bookcases,  commodes, 
brackets,  clock-cases,  candelabra,  mirror  frames,  con- 
sole tables,  and  numerous  other  pieces,  generally 
adapting  Classical  forms  to  modern  uses  more  sue- 


118  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

cessfully  than  any  previous  English  designer.  He 
designed  also  carriages,  plate,  and  other  household 
fitments,  and  a  famous  sedan  chair  for  Queen  Char- 
lotte. 

Adam  followed  the  fashion  of  his  day  in  the  use 
of  mahogany,  but  he  was  most  fond  of  using  satin- 
wood,  a  new  material  which  he  did  much  to  introduce 
to  popular  favour,  and  which  was  well  adapted  to  his 
style.  As  a  distinct  departure  from  Chippendale's 
work,  Adam  used  but  little  carving  and  that  fine  and 
in  low  relief.  He  used  but  little  inlay  until  about 
1770,  when  he  began  to  employ  colour,  gilding,  mar- 
quetery,  and  even  ormulu  ornaments.  His  favourite 
form  of  decoration,  however,  was  painting,  and  he 
may  be  said  to  h&ve  introduced  a  new  idea  in  furni- 
ture— colour  value.  He  borrowed  his  idea  for  painted 
furniture  from  France,  and  he  had  his  work  done  by 
the  best  talent  available.  In  this  he  owed  much 
to  the  imported  artists,  Pergolesi,  Antonio  Zucchi, 
Cipriani,  and  Angelica  Kauffmann. 

While  James  Adam  should  not  be  deprived  of  the 
credit  due  him  for  his  part  in  the  work  of  the  firm 
and  the  development  of  the  Adam  style,  neverthe- 
less the  interest  of  biographer  and  critic  finds  itself 
fixed  inevitably  on  the  life  and  achievements  of 
Robert.    He  was  not  as  scholarly  as  Chambers,  not 


ROBERT  ADAM  119 

as  deep  a  student  of  architecture,  but  his  touch  was 
more  graceful  and  the  tendencies  of  his  original  crea- 
tions were  better  directed.  The  defects  of  his  archi- 
tectural style  were  many  and  obvious,  but  he  pos- 
sessed in  a  marked  degree  a  fine  sense  of  proportion, 
symmetry,  balance,  and  distribution  of  ornament,  and 
he  formed  a  style  notable  for  its  Classic  restraint 
and  elegant  taste.  Like  Chippendale,  he  was  a 
wide  borrower,  borrowing,  indeed,  from  Chippen- 
dale himself,  and,  like  Chippendale,  he  was  a  clever 
adapter,  with  a  greater  sense  of  artistic  propriety  than 
Chippendale  possessed. 

Adam's  critics  differ  somewhat  widely  in  their  ap- 
praisal of  his  work,  but  all  agree  as  to  the  importance 
of  his  introductions  in  the  development  of  English 
style.  As  one  critic  says,  he  turned  the  tide  of 
style  single-handed,  postponing  for  half  a  century 
the  decline  and  fall  of  good  taste.  His  estimate  of  his 
own  work,  as  expressed  in  the  preface  to  his  book,  was 
to  the  effect  that  his  style  had  "brought  about,  in 
this  country,  a  kind  of  revolution  in  the  whole  system 
of  this  elegant  and  useful  art" — an  ambitious  state- 
ment but  literally  true. 

Another  critic  asserts  that  Adam  rang  the  changes 

on  a  few  motives,  and  that  his  style,  though  full  of 
lightness  and  elegance,  was  un-English  and  lacking  in 


120  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

familiar  charm.  There  is  something  in  this  undoubt- 
edly, and  it  may  be  further  admitted  that  much  of 
Adam's  ornamental  work  was  over-refined  and  lack- 
ing in  the  sturdiness  and  virility  that  we  look  for  in 
an  artistic  contribution  of  permanent  value.  But 
the  fact  remains  that  Adam's  influence  on  the  de- 
signers, architects,  decorators,  and  cabinet-makers 
of  his  day,  even  to  the  greatest  of  them,  was  of  the 
highest  potency,  and  we  are  always  in  deep  debt  to 
any  master  whose  leadership  is  in  the  direction  of 
restraint  and  away  from  extravagance. 

Still  another  critic,  referring  to  Adam  as  the  most 
celebrated  architect  of  his  day,  points  out  the  defects 
and  inequalities  in  his  style.  Many  of  Adam's  de- 
signs, he  says,  were  tawdry  and  flimsy,  but  they  had 
also  many  excellencies.  He  possessed  genuine  in- 
ventive genius.  His  exterior  architecture  was  often 
petty  and  commonplace,  his  real  forte  being  [interior 
decoration.  England  is  indebted  to  him,  this  critic 
concludes,  for  much  of  the  comfort  combined  with 
elegance  which  characterizes  her  homes  to-day. 

A  writer  in  the  "Dictionary  of  National  Bio- 
graphy," speaking  of  the  brothers  Robert  and  James, 
sums  up  their  merits  as  follows:  " Of  their  decorative 
work  generally,  it  may  be  said  that  it  was  rich  but 
neat,  refined  but  not  effeminate,  chaste  but  not 


ROBERT  ADAM  121 

severe,  and  that  it  will  probably  have  quite  as  last- 
ing and  beneficial  effect  upon  English  taste  as  their 
architectural  structures." 

Finally,  to  quote  a  contemporary,  the  Gentlemen's 
Magazine  for  March,  1792,  said:  44 Mr.  Adam  pro- 
duced a  total  change  in  the  architecture  of  this  coun- 
try; and  his  fertile  genius  in  elegant  ornament  was 
not  confined  to  the  decoration  of  buildings,  but  has 
been  diffused  into  almost  every  branch  of  manu- 
facture." 

From  John  Swarbrick  and  Adam's  other  bio- 
graphers, we  are  able  to  gain  a  fairly  vivid  idea  of  his 
personality.  In  the  first  place  he  was  a  man  of  na- 
tural good  taste  and  with  a  decided  talent  for  design. 
Incidentally  he  enjoyed  a  considerable  reputation 
as  a  landscape  painter.  His  canvases  showed  a 
rich  appreciation  of  composition,  and  of  light  and 
shadow.  In  the  second  place,  he  was  well  educated 
and  enjoyed  greater  opportunities  for  travel  and 
study  than  most  of  his  contemporaries.  Intellec- 
tually he  was  a  broader  man  than  Chambers. 

Withal  he  was  practical — an  artist  but  no  dreamer. 
The  material  and  artistic  sides  of  his  nature  seem  to 
have  been  equally  developed,  and  he  was  a  successful 
business  man.  Even  his  Spalatro  book  was  pub- 
lished at  a  profit.    And  he  achieved  his  success  in 


122  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

spite  of  his  Scottish  parentage,  at  that  time  not  a 
popular  asset  in  London.  He  was  undoubtedly 
lucky  and  presented  his  ideas  at  an  opportune  mo- 
ment, but  he  had  the  enterprise,  force,  and  vision  to 
make  the  most  of  the  situation. 

He  attracted  notable  friends  from  the  first  and 
must  have  had  a  magnetic  personality  as  well  as  a 
dynamic  character.  He  is  said  to  have  had  pleasing 
manners  and  a  reputation  for  moral  integrity.  He 
was  self  confident  and  pushing — doubtless  conceited 
— all  of  which  contributed  to  his  remarkable  suc- 
cess. 

He  was  not  a  pioneer  like  Inigo  Jones;  I  hardly 
think  his  genius  could  be  rated  in  the  same  class  as 
that  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren;  but,  considering  the 
whole  of  his  character  and  achievements,  I  am  in- 
clined to  consider  him  the  foremost  figure  of  the 
Georgian  Period  in  the  development  of  style  and  in 
artistic  leadership. 


CHAPTER  X 


JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD 

(1730-1795) 

OF  THE  dozens  of  clever  and  successful  Eng- 
lish potters  of  the  eighteenth  century,  most 
were  borrowers  in  the  field  of  design;  few 
may  be  said  to  have  been  creators  of  style.  To  Jo- 
siah  Wedgwood  alone  may  rightly  be  given  the  title 
of  master.  More  than  this,  he  takes  a  place  along- 
side of  Robert  Adam  in  the  refinement  of  English 
taste,  the  revival  of  Classical  forms,  and  the  stem- 
ming of  the  tide  of  vulgarity.  A  contemporary  of 
Adam,  his  work  ran  parallel  to  that  of  the  architect- 
decorator,  and  his  artistic  creed  was  much  the  same. 

Wedgwood's  pottery  was  unquestionably  the  fin- 
est that  England  ever  produced,  in  workmanship, 
design,  material,  and  colour.  When  he  started  in  the 
potter's  trade,  most  of  the  tables  of  the  middle 
classes  in  England  bore  only  crude  clay  dishes, 
pewter,  and  woodenware.  Salt-glaze  and  imported 
porcelains  were  too  costly,  and  it  remained  for 
Wedgwood  to  provide  those  tables  with  good  ware, 
perfect  in  form  and  materials,  at  low  cost.    But  he 

123 


124  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

did  more  than  this:  in  his  finer  ware  he  created 
works  of  art  that  are  still  the  envy  of  sincere  crafts- 
men and  that  rivalled  the  best  work  from  the  Con- 
tinent. 

The  story  of  this  greatest  of  English  potters  is 
inspiring.  Starting  with  a  poor  education  and  an 
entailed  estate,  he  had  to  make  his  own  fortune,  and 
he  became  successful  commercially  as  well  as  artis- 
tically. His  was  a  rare  combination  of  ability.  He 
discovered  and  invented  new  kinds  of  earthenware 
and  introduced  new  and  better  styles.  He  acquired 
considerable  scientific  knowledge  and  his  life  was 
one  of  great  civic  value  in  his  community.  And 
above  all,  his  life  and  work  were  guided  by  the 
purest  ideals  of  craftsmanship. 

Josiah  Wedgwood  has  been  fortunate  in  his  bi- 
ographers. A.  H.  Church,  Samuel  Smiles,  Eliza 
Meteyard,  Frederick  Rathbone,  Llewellyn  Jewett, 
and  others  have  contributed  to  a  fairly  voluminous 
Wedgwood  literature  which  well  repays  the  read- 
ing. I  shall  attempt  only  the  briefest  outline  of 
Wedgwood's  life  and  work,  leaving  it  to  these  au- 
thors to  satisfy  a  desire  for  a  more  complete  and  de- 
tailed account. 

Josiah  Wedgwood  came  from  a  family  of  potters 
which,  through  three  generations,  had  been  prom- 


Part  of  a  blue  and  white  tea  sel  of  jasper  ware.    Metropolitan  Museum 


JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD  125 

inent  in  Staffordshire  in  the  development  of  the 
industry  through  the  seventeenth  and  early  eigh- 
teenth centuries.  His  grandfather,  Dr.  Thomas 
W.  Wedgwood  of  Burslem,  was  one  of  the  best  of 
the  early  salt-glaze  potters.  Josiah  was  the  young- 
est of  thirteen  children  of  Thomas  and  Mary  Wedg- 
wood, and  was  born  in  Burslem  in  1730,  being 
baptized  in  the  parish  church  on  July  12th  of  that 
year.  The  father,  who  owned  a  small  but  thriving 
pottery  there,  died  when  Josiah  was  nine  years  old. 

Josiah  went  to  school  at  Newcastle  until  he  was 
ten  years  old,  and  then,  on  account  of  the  family's 
reduced  circumstances,  he  was  obliged  to  leave  school 
and  go  to  work.  He  was  set  to  learning  the  art  of 
"throwing"  clay,  and  became  extraordinarily  skil- 
ful with  the  potter's  wheel. 

When  about  twelve  years  old,  Josiah  was  stricken 
with  smallpox,  which  left  him  with  a  diseased  knee 
from  which  he  never  recovered  and  which  for  many 
years  caused  him  great  pain  and  inconvenience. 

His  eldest  brother,  Thomas,  had  succeeded  to  the 
father's  business,  and  in  1744  Josiah  was  appren- 
ticed to  him.  For  two  years  he  continued  his  work 
as  "thrower,"  but  at  last  his  lameness  compelled 
him  to  give  it  up.  His  misfortune,  however,  brought 
its  compensation,  for  he  was  now  enabled  to  devote 


126  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

more  of  his  attention  to  the  ornamental  side  of  the 
business  and  to  experimentation  in  the  production 
of  agate  and  tortoise-shell  wares.  He  rapidly  de- 
veloped an  intense  interest  in  the  curious  and  the 
beautiful. 

At  the  end  of  the  apprenticeship,  Thomas,  not  in 
sympathy  with  his  brother's  progressive  views,  re- 
fused to  take  him  into  partnership,  and  in  1752 
Josiah  left  Burslem  and  went  into  partnership  with 
Thomas  Alders  and  John  Harrison  at  the  Cliff 
Bank  Pottery,  near  Stoke,  who  made  mottled  and 
marbled  wares,  some  salt-glaze,  and  tea  sets  of  black 
Egyptian.  Young  Wedgwood  was  instrumental  in 
greatly  improving  these  wares,  but  the  partnership 
failed  to  prove  satisfactory,  and  he  left  after  a  year 
or  two. 

The  young  potter,  in  fact,  had  been  sadly  ham- 
pered in  his  career  until,  in  1754,  he  was  taken  into 
partnership  by  Thomas  Whieldon  of  Fenton  Low, 
one  of  the  most  eminent  potters  of  his  day  and  a  man 
of  progressive  ideas.  This  was  the  turning  point 
in  Josiah's  fortunes.  With  Whieldon,  he  produced 
several  new  wares,  including  a  highly  glazed  green 
ware  in  the  form  of  leaves,  fruits,  and  flowers. 

In  1758  this  partnership  came  to  an  end,  and  early 
in  1759  he  returned  to  Burlsem  and  leased  the  Church- 


JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD  127 

yard  works,  which  he  operated  in  a  small  way. 
Within  a  few  months  he  had  formed  a  new  associa- 
tion with  his  cousin  Thomas,  which  later  grew  into  a 
partnership.  From  relatives  they  rented  for  £10  a 
year  a  cottage,  with  two  kilns,  some  work  sheds, 
etc.,  known  as  the  Ivy  House  works.  Here  Wedg- 
wood began  to  put  into  operation  the  results  of  his 
studies  in  ceramic  chemistry.  The  cousins  had  but 
small  capital,  and  at  first  made  popular  wares — 
salt-glaze,  and  green  and  yellow  glaze — working 
gradually  into  tortoise-shell  and  marbled  plates  and 
flower  vases,  white  stoneware,  and  green-glazed 
earthenware.  Josiah  invented  a  secret  process  for 
firing  the  glaze,  and  at  first  made  most  of  his  own 
models  and  moulds,  mixed  his  own  clay,  super- 
intended the  firing,  and  ran  the  business  end.  This 
early  work  was  not  marked.  The  factory  turned 
out  small  wares  in  considerable  quantity,  but  all 
were  distinguished  by  perfection  of  workmanship. 

In  a  year  or  two  the  cousins  enlarged  the  works, 
engaged  more  workmen,  introduced  a  system  of 
division  of  labour,  and  improved  the  kilns  and 
mechanical  appliances.  In  1762  they  leased  the 
Brick  House  and  works,  known  also  as  the  Bell 
works.  Here  they  remained  until  their  final  removal 
to  Etruria  in  1773.    It  was  at  about  this  time 


128  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

that  Wedgwood  improved  his  white  earthenware  and 
cream-coloured  ware  which  first  brought  him  into 
prominence. 

This  cream-coloured  ware,  made  of  the  finest 
clays  of  Devon  and  Dorset,  was  better  than  any- 
thing of  the  kind  before  produced  in  Stafford- 
shire. In  1762  Wedgwood  presented  a  service  of  this 
ware  to  Queen  Charlotte  and  in  1763  he  had  it  pat- 
ented. In  this  year  he  was  appointed  potter  to 
the  queen,  and  later  to  the  king.  He  gave  the  name 
queen's  ware  to  the  new  pottery. 

The  royal  patronage  doubtless  helped  him,  for  his 
business  began  to  thrive.  Gradually  he  turned  his 
attention  more  and  more  to  artistic  productions. 
The  revival  of  Classic  forms,  such  as  Robert  Adam 
introduced,  interested  him  deeply,  especially  the 
discovery  at  Pompeii  and  elsewhere  in  Italy  of  old 
Greek  and  Tuscan  vases.  This  interest  was  wide- 
spread throughout  Europe.  In  England  Adam  and 
Wedgwood  were  its  most  successful  and  faithful 
exponents.  Wedgwood  began  to  study  also  the 
later  phases  of  Greek  art.  He  adhered  throughout 
to  his  ideals  of  mechanical  accuracy  and  perfection  and 
exerted  a  great  influence  on  the  taste  of  his  time.  He 
became,  in  fact,  the  world's  most  successful  and  orig- 
inal potter,  and  his  work  influenced  all  that  followed. 


A  basalt  tea  set  made  by  Wedgwood  at  Etruria.    Metropolitan  Museum 


JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD  129 

On  January  25,  1764,  Wedgwood  was  married  to 
a  distant  cousin,  Sarah  Wedgwood,  in  the  parish 
church  at  Astbury,  Cheshire,  and  brought  her  home 
to  Brick  House.  It  was  a  happy  marriage;  Sarah 
became  a  model  wife  and  mother  and  took  a  great 
interest  in  all  her  husband's  ^ambitions.  She  was 
the  mother  of  a  considerable  family  of  sons  and 
daughters,  one  of  the  latter  becoming  the  mother  of 
Charles  Darwin.  Not  long  after  his  marriage  Wedg- 
wood, unable  to  endure  longer  the  agony  caused  by 
his  lame  knee,  had  his  leg  amputated. 

About  1766  Wedgwood  began  making  his  black 
basalt  ware.  This  had  been  made  in  a  crude  form 
in  Staffordshire  and  had  been  called  Egyptian 
black,  a  ware  owing  its  colour  to  the  introduction  of 
iron.  Wedgwood  greatly  improved  this,  making  it 
richer  in  line,  finer  in  grain,  and  smoother  in  sur- 
face, and  calling  it  black  porcelain. 

During  the  following  two  years  Wedgwood  was 
very  busy  and  felt  the  need  of  a  special  outlet  for 
his  goods  in  London  and  also  of  a  partner  to  share 
his  business  responsibilities.  As  early  as  1766  he 
began  talking  of  plans  of  expansion  with  his  friend 
Thomas  Bentley,  whom  he  had  met  in  Liverpool  in 
1762.  Bentley  was  a  widely  travelled  man  of  taste 
and  education,  as  well  as  an  experienced  merchant 


130  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

and  a  born  salesman.  He  is  described  as  handsome 
and  courtly.  He  and  Wedgwood  acquired  a  great 
mutual  esteem  for  each  other,  and  in  1767  they 
agreed  upon  a  partnership  which  was  completed  in 
the  following  year.  From  that  time  the  Wedgwood 
ware  began  to  be  marked  with  the  names  Wedg- 
wood &  Bentley,  or  the  initials  W.  &  B.  A  shop 
was  opened  in  St.  Martin's  Lane,  London,  in  1768, 
and  Bentley  settled  there  to  look  after  the  sales.  This 
arrangement  proved  most  profitable  for  all  concerned. 

The  business  continued  to  grow  until  finally  the 
firm  built  a  new  factory  at  Etruria,  near  Hanley. 
Here  also  Wedgwood  built  a  fine  mansion  for  him- 
self. The  new  works  were  formally  opened  June 
13,  1769.  The  scope  of  the  business  was  greatly 
enlarged  and  included  the  manufacture  of  cameos, 
medallions,  miniature  sculptures,  painted  vases,  etc. 
It  was  at  Etruria  that  the  finest  of  the  Wedgwood 
wares  were  made,  many  special  orders  being  ex- 
ecuted for  European  royal  families  and  other  emi- 
nent persons.  The  firm  employed  the  most  able 
and  talented  artists  available,  including  John  Flax- 
man,  an  artist  and  sculptor  of  rare  Classic  taste, 
whose  work  is  now  highly  prized  by  connoisseurs. 
All  of  which  helped  greatly  in  raising  the  standard 
of  the  national  taste. 


JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD  131 

In  1774  new  quarters  were  fitted  up  in  London 
for  Mr.  Bentley,  in  Greek  Street,  Soho,  and  were 
called  Portland  House. 

In  1773  Wedgwood  began  making  a  tinted  terra 
cotta  which  he  perfected  until  in  1776  he  was  pro- 
ducing his  famous  jasper  ware,  perhaps  the  best 
known  and  most  highly  prized  of  all  his  inventions. 

Thomas  Bentley  died  November  26,  1780,  and 
Wedgwood,  nearly  overwhelmed  by  his  loss,  carried 
on  the  ornamental  end  of  the  business  alone.  In 
1788  his  cousin  Thomas,  who  had  been  in  charge  of 
the  so-called  useful  wares,  also  died.  The  burden 
of  responsibility  was  too  much  for  Wedgwood,  and 
in  1790  he  took  into  partnership  his  three  sons,  John, 
Josiah,  and  Thomas.  In  1793  his  nephew,  Thomas 
Byerley,  was  also  taken  in,  and  the  firm  became 
Wedgwood,  Sons  &  Byerley. 

Josiah  Wedgwood  the  elder  partially  retired  from 
business  in  1790,  and  during  the  last  five  years  of 
his  life  he  was  afflicted  with  ill  health.  He  died  at 
Etruria  on  January  3,  1795,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five, 
rich  in  honours  and  friends,  and  leaving  an  estate  of 
over  £500,000.  He  was  buried  in  the  churchyard 
in  Stoke.  Though  the  works  were  carried  on  after 
his  death,  his  personal  supervision  and  inspiration 
could  never  be  replaced. 


132  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Josiah  Wedgwood  was  a  man  of  genius  in  art, 
an  earnest  man  of  interesting  personality  and 
sterling  character,  a  man  of  intellect,  patience, 
perseverance,  courage,  and  high  ideals.  He  was  so- 
cially inclined,  entertained  much,  and  drew  about 
him  many  warm  friends,  including  some  of  the  most 
eminent  men  of  his  time.  He  was  a  collector  of 
books,  engravings,  and  objects  of  natural  history, 
and  took  great  delight  in  the  improvement  of  his 
garden  and  grounds.  His  sympathies  were  all  with 
the  patriots  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  he  was 
an  advocate  of  the  abolition  of  slavery. 

Lacking  the  opportunities  of  an  early  education,  his 
mind  was  ever  vigorous  and  he  acquired  consider- 
able scientific  knowledge.  He  was  accustomed  to 
send  the  results  of  his  experiments  and  investiga- 
tions to  the  Royal  Society,  and  his  scientific  writings 
were  always  sound  and  sane.  He  invented  a  pyro- 
meter for  recording  the  higher  degrees  of  heat.  He 
was  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  and  Antiquarian  Societies, 
and  in  1786  he  was  the  promoter  and  founder  of  an 
association  in  London  called  The  General  Chamber 
of  the  Manufacturers  of  Great  Britain. 

Wedgwood's  activities,  in  fact,  were  many  and 
varied  outside  of  his  business.  He  always  took  a 
great  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  workmen  and 


Pebble-ware  vases  made  by   Wedgwood   &   Bentley.  Metropolitan 

Museum  of  Art 


A  tov  teapot  in   black   basalt   with   encaustic   enamel  decorations. 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 


/  5 


JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD  133 

built  a  model  village  for  them  at  Etruria.  He 
recognized  the  need  for  better  transportation  facili- 
ties in  Staffordshire  if  business  was  to  expand,  and 
proposed  a  canal  to  be  built  connecting  the  Trent 
and  Mersey  rivers.  He  was  the  chief  agent  in  ob- 
taining an  act  of  Parliament  authorizing  the  building 
of  this  canal,  and  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  landed 
interests,  he  saw  it  through.  The  first  turf  was  cut 
on  July  17,  1766,  and  the  Grand  Trunk  Canal, 
ninety  miles  long,  was  completed  in  1770.  Wedg- 
wood also  planned  and  carried  into  execution  ten 
miles  of  turnpike  roads,  and  he  assisted  in  the  im- 
provement of  Burslem  by  the  building  of  schools, 
chapels,  a  town  hall,  and  a  public  market. 

In  connection  with  the  production  of  Wedgwood's 
finer  wares,  and  the  designing  of  those  Classical 
forms  which  helped  to  make  him  famous  and  to  raise 
the  artistic  taste  of  England,  a  word  of  credit  should 
be  given  to  John  Flaxman.  Flaxman,  whose  father 
was  a  seller  of  plaster  casts,  was  the  second  son  and 
was  born  July  6,  1755.  While  a  boy  he  amused 
himself  with  drawing  and  modelling  and  reading 
Classic  fables.  When  twelve  years  old  he  won  first 
prize  for  a  model  from  the  Society  of  Arts,  and  again 
when  he  was  fifteen.  From  1767  on  he  was  an 
important  contributor  to  exhibitions.    He  became  a 


134  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

sculptor  of  ability  and  designed  and  executed  a 
number  of  public  monuments.  Bentley  discovered 
him  before  1775,  and  Wedgwood  took  a  great  interest 
in  his  career,  sending  him  to  Rome  to  study,  and 
helping  him  in  other  ways.  He  was  the  designer  of 
some  of  the  most  exquisite  of  the  relief  decorations 
used  on  the  jasper  ware. 

A  volume  might  be  written — in  fact,  volumes  have 
been  written — describing  ?!  the  various  Wedgwood 
wares.  Only  the  briefest  possible  resume  can  be  given 
in  a  chapter  of  this  scope.  The  chief  wares  were  the 
cream-coloured  or  queen's  ware;  variegated  or  terra 
cotta  ware,  resembling  porphyry,  granite,  Egyptian 
pebble,  etc.;  basalt,  or  black  porcelain;  a  white 
porcelain  biscuit,  smooth  and  wax-like,  with  prop- 
erties like  the  basalt;  jasper  ware;  bamboo,  or  cane- 
coloured  biscuit  porcelain,  similar  to  the  white;  and  a 
porcelain  biscuit  hard  as  agate,  impenetrable  by 
acid  or  liquid,  and  used  for  mortars  and  pestles, 
chemical  vessels,  etc. 

Briefly,  the  queen's  ware  was  light  and  durable, 
clear  in  tone,  and  offered  a  good  background  for  dec- 
oration. It  was  made  in  dinner  sets,  basket-work 
dishes,  vases,  and  various  odd  pieces. 

The  black  basalt  was  perhaps  the  most  solid  pot- 
tery ever  produced.    It  was  as  hard  as  natural  stone, 


JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD  135 

capable  of  receiving  a  high  polish,  resistant  to  acids 
and  fire,  fine  in  grain  and  texture.  It  was  made  in 
tea  sets,  vases,  placques,  busts,  and  medallion  por- 
traits in  plain  black,  and  was  also  used  to  receive 
encaustic  painting. 

The  jasper  ware  Wedgwood  himself  described  as 
"a  white  porcelain  bisque  of  exquisite  beauty  and 
delicacy,  possessing  the  quality  of  receiving  colour 
throughout  its  whole  substance.  This  renders  it 
particularly  fit  for  cameos,  portraits,  and  all  subjects 
in  bas-relief,  as  the  ground  may  be  made  of  any 
colour  throughout  and  the  raised  figures  in  pure 
white."  Many  colours  were  employed,  including  at 
least  five  tones  and  hues  of  blue  derived  from  cobalt, 
six  tones  of  green,  three  tones  of  red  from  orange 
to  terra  cotta,  lilac,  rose,  plum,  chocolate,  buff, 
brown,  canary-yellow,  black,  and  four  distinct  whites. 
Previous  to  1781  the  jasper  ware  was  used  almost  ex- 
clusively for  placques  and  cameos.  Then  Wedg- 
wood turned  his  attention  to  vases,  adapting  the 
forms  largely  from  the  antique.  After  1780  all 
sorts  of  articles  were  made  in  this  ware. 

The  incident  of  the  Portland  vase  is  worthy  of 
mention.  The  original  Portland  or  Barberini  vase 
was  a  famous  antique  glass  amphora  which  was  dis- 
covered about  1625  and  was  acquired  by  the  Duchess 


136  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

of  Portland  in  1785  after  a  troubled  history.  This 
vase  was  copied  wonderfully  by  Wedgwood  in  blue- 
black  jasper  with  white  relief  figures.  He  is  supposed 
to  have  made  fifty  copies,  though  others  were  made 
later.  For  the  best  of  them  he  charged  £50  each. 
It  is  said  that  about  twenty  of  the  original  fifty 
copies  are  extant  in  museums  and  private  collections, 
chiefly  in  England,  but  the  authenticity  of  some  of 
them  is  disputed.  They  are  very  valuable,  one 
having  been  sold  in  1890  at  Christie's  in  London  for 
£200. 

Some  of  Wedgwood's  most  decorative  and  most 
minutely  perfect  work  is  to  be  found  in  his  cameos  and 
medallions.  They  were  made  chiefly  in  black  basalt 
and  jasper  ware,  and  included  reliefs  and  intaglios. 
Among  the  subjects  most  prized  by  collectors  are  the 
classical  and  historical  subjects,  and  the  "heads  of 
illustrious  moderns."  The  commonest  size  was 
2  by  11  inches,  in  oval  form. 

Most  of  the  genuine  Wedgwood  ware  bears  the 
potter's  mark.  Prior  to  1768,  on  the  queen's  ware, 
the  single  name  Wedgwood  appeared  in  fairly  large 
capitals.  About  1768  the  name  was  used  in  four 
different  sizes  of  type.  From  1769  to  1780  the  firm 
name  Wedgwood  &  Bentley  appeared.  The  two 
names,  one  above  the  other,  were  used  in  four 


JOSIAH  WEDGWOOD  137 

sizes.  The  names  were  also  used  in  raised  letters  in  a 
circular  impressed  mark,  usually  a  little  over  an  inch 
in  diameter,  the  word  Etruria  being  added  on  the 
later  basalt,  Etruscan,  and  variegated  vases.  On 
the  small  basalt  intaglios  the  initials  W.  &  B.  were 
sometimes  used.  After  Bentley's  death  the  single 
name  Wedgwood  was  again  used  in  six  different 
sizes. 

This  brief  outline  is  hardly  sufficient  to  guide  the 
novice  in  a  study  of  Wedgwood  wares,  but  it  may 
suggest  a  course  of  more  thorough  investigation. 
The  artistic  beauty  and  variety  of  these  objects  will 
well  repay  the  study.  For  Wedgwood  was  more 
than  a  successful  potter.  Like  Adam  he  introduced 
Classic  forms  in  pottery  following  the  vogue  of 
Chinese,  as  Adam  superseded  Chippendale.  Wedg- 
wood's life  and  work  are  fairly  well  known,  but  he  has 
seldom  been  credited  with  the  influence  he  exerted 
on  the  general  trend  of  artistic  taste  and  appreciation 
in  England. 


CHAPTER  XI 


GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE 

{Circa  1720-1786) 

GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE  comes  very  near 
to  being  a  myth.  His  personality  is  elu- 
sive; the  very  proof  of  his  existence  depends 
largely  on  circumstantial  evidence.  He  was,  how- 
ever, an  individual  to  be  reckoned  with  in  any  study 
of  the  development  of  style  in  furniture.  He  is  not 
to  be  explained  away  as  a  mere  name  given  to  a 
school.  There  was  a  personality  there  which  im- 
pressed itself  on  the  taste  of  his  period,  and  for  years 
Hepplewhite  has  shared  with  Chippendale  and  Shera- 
ton the  honour  of  creating  or  fostering  that  national 
taste  for  artistic  beauty  in  furniture  which  reached 
its  zenith  in  England  between  1780  and  1800. 

Of  biographical  data  very  little  exists.  Even  the 
dates  of  his  birth  and  death  are  not  certainly  known, 
and  the  spelling  of  his  name  has  been  a  matter  of 
controversy.  In  the  first  edition  of  his  book  it  was 
spelled  "Heppelwhite,"  and  this  spelling  has  appeared 
occasionally  elsewhere.  In  the  later  editions,  how- 
ever, the  name  appears  as  "  Hepplewhite." 

138 


GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE  139 

George  Hepplewhite  was  born— no  one  knows 
just  where — at  some  time  during  the  first  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  was  apprenticed  to 
the  Gillows  at  Lancaster.  Later  he  carried  on  a 
cabinet-making  business  in  Redcross  street,  Parish 
of  St.  Giles,  Cripplegate.  He  must  have  died  in 
1786,  for  the  records  show  that  on  June  27th  of 
that  year  the  administration  of  his  estate  was 
granted  to  his  widow,  Alice  Hepplewhite.  He  left  a 
profitable  business  and  property  of  considerable 
value. 

After  his  death  the  business  was  carried  on  by 
his  widow  and  partners,  trading  as  A.  Hepplewhite 
&  Co.,  and  it  is  their  name  which  appears  on  the 
catalogue  of  his  designs  which  was  published  two 
years  after  his  death. 

No  record  has  been  left  as  to  the  sort  of  man 
Hepplewhite  was.  We  can  only  argue  from  his  work 
and  success  that  he  was  a  man  of  taste  and  skill, 
educated  at  least  in  his  art,  and  possessed  of  business 
ability  second  only  to  that  of  Chippendale.  He  was 
the  most  prominent  cabinet-maker  and  furniture 
designer  in  England  at  a  time  when  this  was  a  pros- 
perous and  populous  industry. 

The  only  visible  evidence  we  have  of  his  work  is 
in  his  posthumous  book.    It  is  known  that  he  made 


140  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

furniture  after  his  own  designs,  but  many  others 
made  use  of  them  also,  so  that  to-day  we  have  but 
slight  means  of  identification. 

The  full  title  of  the  book,  which  is  descriptive 
of  its  contents,  is  as  follows  (taken  from  the  third 
edition):  "The  Cabinet-Maker  and  Upholsterer's 
Guide,  or,  Repository  of  Designs  for  Every  Article 
of  Household  Furniture,  in  the  Newest  and  Most 
Approved  Taste,  Displaying  a  Great  Variety  of 
Patterns  for  Chairs,  Stools,  Sofas,  Confidante,  Duch- 
esse,  Side  Boards,  Pedestals  and  Vases,  Cellerets, 
Knife-Cases,  Desk  and  Book-Cases,  Secretary  and 
Book-Cases,  Library  Cases,  Library  Tables,  Reading 
Desks,  Chests  of  Drawers,  Urn  Stands,  Tea  Cad- 
dies, Tea  Trays,  Card  Tables,  Pier  Tables,  Pem- 
broke Tables,  Tambour  Tables,  Dressing  Glasses, 
Dressing  Tables  and  Drawers,  Commodes,  Rudd's 
Table,  Bidets,  Night  Stands,  Bason  Stands,  Ward- 
robes, Pot  Cupboards,  Brackets,  Hanging  Shelves, 
Fire  Screens,  Beds,  Field  Beds,  Sweep  Tops  for 
Ditto,  Bed  Pillars,  Candle  Stands,  Lamps,  Pier 
Glasses,  Terms  for  Busts,  Cornices  for  Library 
Cases,  Wardrobes,  etc.,  at  large.  Ornamented  tops 
for  pier  tables,  Pembroke  tables,  commodes,  etc. 
In  the  Plainest  and  Most  Enriched  Styles,  with  a 
Scale  to  each,  and  an  Explanation  in  Letter  Press. 


Design  for  a  secretary,  from  "  The  Cabinet-Maker's  and  Upholsterer's 
Guide,"  by  A.  Hepplewhite  &  Co. 


GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE  141 

Also  the  Plan  of  a  Room  showing  the  Proper  Distri- 
bution of  the  Furniture.  The  Whole  Exhibiting 
near  three  hundred  different  designs,  engraved  on 
one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  plates.  From  Draw- 
ings by  A.  Hepplewhite  &  Co.,  Cabinet-Makers." 

The  first  edition  of  this  book  was  published  in 
1788,  the  second  in  1789,  and  the  third  in  1794. 
It  was  a  businesslike  book  for  the  trade,  and  the 
most  notable  of  several  similar  works  published 
by  others  at  about  the  same  time.  In  the  preface 
Hepplewhite  states  his  creed  as  follows:  "To  unite 
elegance  and  utility,  and  blend  the  useful  with  the 
agreeable,  has  ever  been  considered  a  difficult  but 
an  honourable  task."  It  is  the  simple  statement  of 
a  true  craftsman,  and  might  have  come  from  the 
pen  of  John  Ruskin  or  William  Morris. 

Postponing  for  the  moment  a  general  criticism 
of  Hepplewhite' s  work,  the  impression  one  receives 
from  looking  through  his  book  is  of  a  lack  of  uni- 
formity. Some  of  the  designs  are  fine  and  grace- 
ful, some  heavy  and  bordering  on  ugliness,  which 
adds  some  colour  to  the  theory  that  not  all  the  de- 
signs in  the  books  were  by  Hepplewhite  himself.  It 
is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  assume  that  his  pencil 
was  responsible  for  the  best  of  them.  Some  of  the 
rectangular-backed  chairs  strongly  suggest  Sheraton; 


142  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

the  sofas  are  hardly  compelling  in  the  main;  the 
girandoles,  pier  glasses,  etc.,  are  very  fine  and  delicate 
and  are  decidedly  of  the  Adam  type;  the  sideboards 
show  no  drawers,  but  are  equipped  with  vases  and 
pedestals  at  the  ends  and  with  knife-boxes  on  top; 
the  chairs  and  small  tables  make  decidedly  the  best 
showing;  stools  and  other  pieces  are  strongly  Louis 
XVI  in  style;  the  beds  somehow  fail  to  satisfy; 
something  seems  to  be  wrong  with  their  propor- 
tions, though  the  pillars  are  in  most  cases  very 
graceful.  So  much  of  an  impression  may  be  gained 
through  a  hasty  study  of  this  book. 

Though  the  ' '  Guide"  was  published  after  Hepple- 
white's  death  and  was  doubtless  prepared  toward  the 
close  of  his  life,  many  of  the  designs  may  have  been 
drawn  some  time  before.  He  had  undoubtedly 
been  in  business  for  several  years  and  had  probably 
been  making  furniture  of  this  type.  He  was  almost 
certainly  a  competitor  of  Chippendale,  and  his  best 
work  probably  antedates  the  publication  of  his  book 
by  upward  of  ten  years. 

To  return  to  Hepplewhite's  place  among  the 
Georgian  designers  and  craftsmen,  his  detractors 
are  inclined  to  point  out  that  his  name  has  been 
given  to  a  school  or  a  fashion  which  he  did  not 
create.    They  assert  that  he  did  not  originate  the 


GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE  143 

so-called  Hepplewhite  style,  but  was  merely  one  of 
many  exponents.  They  point  out  that  others  were 
working  in  this  style,  and  that  the  Gillows  preceded 
him,  while  Adam  was  the  real  source  of  its  prin- 
ciples. But  every  school  and  movement  has  its 
leader,  and  Hepplewhite  was  undoubtedly  the  supe- 
rior of  his  contemporaries.  He  was  constructive, 
and  he  did  more  than  any  other  to  crystallize  the 
new  taste. 

It  is  also  true  that  most  of  the  so-called  Hepple- 
white furniture  was  not  made  by  Hepplewhite,  but 
only  controversialists  need  attempt  to  distinguish 
between  the  actual  work  of  his  shop,  the  designs 
shown  in  his  book,  and  the  work  of  his  contempo- 
raries working  along  parallel  lines.  Call  it  the  work 
of  a  school  and  not  of  an  individual  if  you  will,  or 
the  normally  developing  fashion  of  an  hour,  it  ex- 
hibits too  many  excellences  not  to  confess  to  the 
parentage  of  a  master,  and  Hepplewhite  must  have 
been  that  master. 

And  what  one  of  the  masters  was  entirely  orig- 
inal? The  great  master  always  knows  how  to  ap- 
ply and  adapt  the  work  of  others.  Like  Chippen- 
dale, Hepplewhite  borrowed  freely,  from  both  France 
and  England.  He  and  Sheraton  were  fortunate  in 
coming  after  furniture  making  had  been  established 


144  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

as  one  of  the  fine  arts,  and  there  was  a  mass  of 
material  for  them  to  draw  from.  It  was  to  Adam 
that  Hepplewhite  owed  his  greatest  debt.  It  was 
Hepplewhite's  aim  to  break  away  from  the  Chip- 
pendale style  and  to  combine  elegance  with  light- 
ness, and  in  the  Adam  introductions  he  found  the 
most  available  material  for  this.  From  Adam  he 
took  the  tapering  leg  which  he  did  most  to  popularize, 
the  oval  chair  back,  and  painted  ornament.  In 
fact,  there  is  such  a  merging  of  styles  from  Adam  to 
Hepplewhite  and  Sheraton  that  it  is  often  impossible 
to  draw  sharp  lines  of  distinction. 

Granting  all  this  indefiniteness,  it  is  still  possible 
to  make  some  sort  of  critical  study  of  what  is  gen- 
erally considered  as  Hepplewhite's  contribution  to 
the  style  of  his  day.  He  was,  first  of  all,  an  ex- 
ponent of  elegance.  That  was  the  keynote  of  his 
style.  He  pared  away  all  clumsiness  from  his  de- 
signs. Their  extreme  fineness,  in  some  cases,  pro- 
duces almost  the  effect  of  weakness,  but  he  was  a 
thorough  enough  craftsman  to  offset  this  with  ex- 
cellence of  construction  in  the  work  which  he  actu- 
ally executed  himself. 

Hepplewhite's  style  lies  somewhere  between  the 
rococo  and  the  Classic.  He  broke  away  from  Chip- 
pendale, though  he  was  not  a  thorough  Classicist 


GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE  145 

like  Adam,  nor  did  he  ever  achieve  quite  the  per- 
fection of  delicacy  reached  by  Sheraton.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  possessed  balance  and  restraint  and 
common  sense,  and  he  avoided  the  ultra-fantastic 
which  neither  Chippendale  nor  Sheraton  was  guilt- 
less of.  On  the  whole,  his  style  was  more  distinctly 
English  than  Chippendale's,  and  if  he  was  not  a 
student  of  the  Classic  like  Adam,  he  at  least  ab- 
sorbed much  of  the  Classic  feeling. 

The  Hepplewhite  designs  show  an  absorption 
rather  than  an  adoption  of  foreign  styles,  though 
they  were  strongly  influenced  by  the  style  of  Louis 
XVI,  as  Chippendale's  were  by  that  of  Louis  XV. 
They  are  characterized  by  comfort  rather  than  arti- 
ficiality of  ornament.  Hepplewhite  was  a  mechani- 
cal rather  than  a  free-hand  designer  like  Chippendale, 
and  his  designs  show  technical  excellences  that  were 
undoubtedly  the  result  of  his  practical  training. 

The  popular  taste  at  this  time  was  veering  away 
from  solid  mahogany,  and  lighter  woods,  such  as 
satinwood,  chestnut,  sycamore,  and  stained  woods, 
were  coming  into  vogue,  beech  being  used  to  a 
considerable  extent  for  painted  furniture.  Hep- 
plewhite, however,  clung  largely  to  mahogany,  using 
satinwood  and  rosewood  moderately  to  meet  special 
demands.    His  chairs  were  mostly  solid  mahogany, 


146  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

his  sideboards  sometimes  veneered.  He  occasion- 
ally painted  or  japanned  his  furniture  after  the  Adam 
manner,  some  of  this  being  fine,  though  much  of  it 
lacked  durability. 

Hepplewhite,  though  not  a  master  carver  like 
Chippendale,  used  carving  with  greater  restraint 
and  most  effectively.  It  was  mostly  in  low  relief. 
It  was  in  inlay,  however,  that  he  excelled,  and  he 
produced  some  ofj  the  most  refined  and  tasteful  in- 
lay to  be  found  on  English  furniture.  On  the  doors 
of  wardrobes  and  the  fronts  of  drawers  he  used 
a  veneer  of  the  beautiful  curl  mahogany  that  came 
into  favour  about  1760,  while  on  the  fronts  of  his 
solid  mahogany  tables,  sideboards,  and  bookcases 
he  substituted  for  carving  an  inlay  of  low-toned 
contrasting  woods  in  simple  patterns.  The  legs  of 
his  tables  and  sideboards  were  frequently  orna- 
mented with  delicate  vertical  patterns  in  sycamore 
and  tulip  wood.  He  was  fond  of  using  narrow 
lines  and  bands,  herring-bone  patterns,  the  meander 
pattern,  and  the  Greek  fret,  while  the  wheat  ear 
appears  constantly  in  his  inlay  and  carving. 

Hepplewhite  introduced  the  tapering,  square  leg 
— often  tapered  on  the  inside  faces  only — usually 
ending  in  the  spade  foot,  which  added  a  needed  look 
of  strength.    He  also  began  the  use  of  turned  legs, 


GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE  147 

not  to  be  found  in  Chippendale's  work.  The  cabri- 
ole leg  he  discarded  altogether.  On  some  of  his 
larger  pieces  he  used  the  short,  hollowed-out  bracket 
or  French  foot.  He  was  fond  of  inserting  small 
ovals  in  his  chair  backs,  and  he  often  used  the 
Prince  of  Wales  feathers  in  delicate  carving,  com- 
bined with  inlay  in  coloured  wroods.  The  urn-shaped 
finials  and  Classic  pediments  found  in  his  designs 
were  borrowed  from  Adam.  His  finest  and  most 
elaborate  inlaid  work,  perhaps,  is  to  be  found  on 
his  table  tops. 

Hepplewhite's  furniture  was  unequal  in  quality. 
His  chairs,  sofas,  and  sideboards  were  among  the 
best  ever  made  in  England,  and  he  is  chiefly  re- 
membered for  them.  His  shield-back  chair  is  per- 
haps his  best  known  and  most  highly  appreciated 
design. 

Moden  designers  of  chairs  probably  owe  more 
to  Hepplewhite  than  to  any  other.  Like  Chippen- 
dale, he  devoted  his  best  efforts  to  the  chair.  Hep- 
plewhite chairs  are  refined  and  elegant  in  propor- 
tions, and  are  almost  always  stronger  than  they 
appear.  The  designs  are  structurally  sound.  They 
were  generally  smaller  than  those  of  Chippen- 
dale, partly  because  hoops  had  gone  temporarily 
out  of  fashion. 


148  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

They  are  best  known  for  their  oval,  heart-shaped, 
and  shield-shaped  backs,  and  their  straight,  square, 
tapering  legs,  often  ending  in  the  spade  foot.  The 
typical  Hepplewhite  chair  back  is  a  thing  of,  rare 
beauty  of  curve  and  proportion.  It  was  rarely  up- 
holstered, but  formed  an  open  or  pierced  frame  within 
which  there  appeared  an  infinite  variety  of  patterns. 
These  were  sometimes  curving  upright  slats,  some- 
times a  single  pierced  central  splat,  nearly  always  ex- 
quisitely carved  in  low  relief.  The  designs  include 
simple  flutings,  Classic  details,  representations  of 
urns  with  drapery  or  festoons,  the  husks  and  ears 
of  wheat,  and  the  three  feathers  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales.  This  last  was  used  more  often  in  the  oval- 
backed  chairs,  the  back  of  which  usually  enclosed 
a  fan-shaped  splat.  He  also  designed  a  square- 
backed  chair  with  four  or  five  upright  slats. 

The  shape  of  the  shield-back  varies  from  round 
to  pointed,  but  the  top  is  nearly  always  a  graceful, 
swelling  curve,  sometimes  called  camel-back.  The 
shield  rests  on  upright  supports  at  the  sides,  which 
blend  gently  with  the  curve  of  the  back.  It  is  said 
that  the  Gillows  may  have  originated  the  shield- 
back,  but  Hepplewhite  was  at  least  its  most  con- 
sistent and  successful  user,  and  most  of  its  details 
were  certainly  original  with  him. 


Sideboard  attributed  to  Thomas  Shearer.    Metropolitan  Museum 


GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE  1  J  9 

Hepplewhite's  armchairs  were,  for  the  most  part, 
similar  to  his  side  chairs — perhaps  a  trifle  broader — 
with  arms  attached  about  half  way  up  the  back 
and  curving  throughout  their  length,  with  all  harsh 
angles  avoided.  Hepplewhite  chair  seats  were  most 
often  upholstered  in  coloured  and  figured  haircloth, 
held  in  place  by  straight  or  waving  rows  of  brass- 
headed  nails. 

Most  of  Hepplewhite's  chairs  were  of  solid  ma- 
hogany, depending  for  their  ornament  on  line  and 
carving.  Occasionally,  however,  he  used  a  fine 
satinwood  inlay,  and  a  few  of  his  later  chairs  were 
japanned  or  painted  with  musical  trophies,  floral 
motifs,  etc. — elegant  and  pleasing  but  not  permanent. 

Hepplewhite  did  much  to  develop  the  sideboard 
for  both  use  and  beauty,  and  introduced  many 
articles  for  tea  service,  such  as  urn  stands,  tea 
trays,  chests,  and  caddies.  Adam  and  others  had 
designed  serving-tables,  flanked  by  pedestals  used 
as  cellerettes  and  plate  warmers  and  surmounted 
by  hot-water  urns.  Knife-boxes  were  used  on  the 
tables  and  a  girandole  suspended  above.  Hepple- 
white (or  Shearer,  of  whom  I  shall  speak  pres- 
ently) combined  these  into  one  piece.  Cupboards 
and  drawers  were  first  built  into  the  ends  of  the 
table  to  contain  silver,  and  the  knife-boxes  were 


150  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

abandoned.  Then  the  table  and  pedestals  were 
united  into  a  single  piece. 

Hepplewhite's  sideboards  are  distinguished  by 
their  beautiful  serpentine  fronts.  These  differ  from 
Sheraton's  in  that  the  end  curves  are  concave, 
while  Sheraton's  are  convex.  There  are  four  legs  in 
front  and  two  or  four  in  back.  These  sideboards 
were  often  embellished  with  fine  inlay  of  satinwood, 
tulip  wood,  sycamore,  ebony,  rosewood,  maple, 
yew,  holly,  etc.,  with  little  or  no  carving.  They  were 
perhaps  the  most  admired  of  all  his  designs,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  his  chairs. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  credit  for  the  in- 
troduction of  this  piece  of  furniture  is  not  due  to 
Hepplewhite,  but  to  his  friend  and  collaborator, 
Thomas  Shearer.  Less  is  known  about  Shearer, 
even,  than  Hepplewhite.  He  may  have  been  em- 
ployed by  the  latter.  At  all  events,  his  fame  was 
overshadowed  by  that  of  Hepplewhite.  He  was 
the  author  of  most  of  the  designs  in  "The  Cabinet- 
Maker's  London  Book  of  Prices  and  Designs,"  a 
book  published  for  the  trade  in  1788.  In  this  ap- 
pears the  Shearer  sideboard  which  Hepplewhite  is 
thought  to  have  adapted.  The  book  is  also  strong 
in  bookcase  designs  and  contains  screen  writing- 
cases,  library  bookcases,  wardrobes,  bureau  book- 


GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE  151 

cases,  writing  and  dressing-tables,  ladies'  work  tables, 
etc.  We  have  no  evidence  that  Shearer  designed 
chairs,  apparently  leaving  that  field  to  Hepple- 
white. 

Shearer  had  a  keen  eye  for  simplicity  of  design 
and  delicacy  of  proportion.  Some  of  his  pieces  are 
unsurpassed  for  dainty  and  slender  elegance.  His 
use  of  inlay  was  graceful  and  restrained,  and  no 
one  ever  used  the  curve  to  better  purpose.  Both 
Hepplewhite  and  Sheraton  owed  much  to  this  ob- 
scure craftsman. 

Of  other  pieces  Hepplewhite  designed  and  prob- 
ably constructed  a  wide  variety,  though  not  all  of 
equal  excellence.  His  sofas  were  given  serpentine, 
convex  curved,  or  straight  backs,  upholstered.  His 
only  open-back  design  was  the  bar-back  or  four- 
shield,  like  a  row  of  chair  backs.  His  French 
designs  are  considered  the  most  successful.  He 
designed  window  seats  similar  to  Adam's,  Louis 
XVI  in  type,  elegant  in  their  simplicity,  with  no 
backs  and  with  the  ends  or  arms  rolling  gracefully 
outward.  He  made  dressing-tables  with  heart- 
shaped  mirrors,  Pembroke  tables  with  two-hinged 
leaves,  card  tables,  and  pier  tables  with  semi-circular 
tops. 

His  bedroom  furniture  was  often  charming,  with 


152  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

beds,  wardrobes,  commodes,  dressing-tables,  etc., 
more  complete  and  less  heavy  than  they  had  been 
previously.  His  bedsteads  were  handsome,  with 
carved  and  reeded  pillars,  and  his  wardrobe  sup- 
planted the  old  highboy. 

In  his  mirror  frames  he  took  a  leaf  from  Adam's 
book.  They  were  made  largely  of  compo  and  were 
very  delicate  and  fragile,  with  Classic  ornament 
predominating.  His  smaller  pieces  show  much  grace 
and  avoidance  of  over-ornamentation.  They  in- 
clude urn-shaped  knife-boxes  in  mahogany  and 
satinwood,  a  great  variety  of  inlaid  tea  caddies, 
graceful  fire  screens,  work  tables,  dressing-glasses, 
and  little  inlaid  stands.  He  probably  made  no  clock 
cases,  but  his  influence  is  to  be  seen  on  those  of  the 
period,  with  their  inlay  of  lines,  bandings,  and  sand- 
burnt  ovals  and  shells. 

It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  comparative  estimate 
of  Hepplewhite's  position  in  the  Hall  of  Fame.  We 
know  so  little  about  him;  his  own  work  as  a  cabinet- 
maker is  so  difficult  to  identify;  so  little  is  known  as 
to  just  how  far  his  designs  should  be  credited  to  his 
own  originality.  We  may  safely  conclude,  however, 
that  he  was  a  man  not  without  force,  imagination, 
originality,  and  artistic  resources.  He  had  an  eye 
sensitive  to  design,  and  he  must  be  given  credit  for 


GEORGE  HEPPLEWHITE  153 

the  general  high  level  of  his  design,  proportion,  and 
workmanship.  Lightness,  delicacy,  grace,  and  re- 
finement characterize  his  style  and  give  us  an  inkling 
of  the  character  of  the  man.  He  may  be  reckoned 
something  of  a  pioneer,  for  he  was  one  of  the  first  of 
the  cabinet-makers  to  break  away  from  Chippendale 
domination.  Adam  undoubtedly  influenced  his  style, 
but  did  not  entirely  determine  the  best  of  Hepple- 
white's  designs.  George  Hepplewhite  was  at  least  a 
practical  cabinet-maker  of  independent  if  not  ori- 
ginal ideas,  and  his  work  certainly  produced  a  pro- 
found effect  on  the  style  of  the  period. 

Personally,  I  have  always  felt  that  Hepplewhite, 
if  he  deserves  credit  for  all  that  bears  his  name, 
was  a  greater  designer  than  Chippendale,  a  man 
with  a  better  balanced  mind  and  a  truer  sense  of 
line  and  proportion,  though  I  know  that  Chippen- 
dale has  generally  been  considered  the  greatest  of 
the  Georgians.  R.  S.  Clouston,  the  English  au- 
thority, says:  "I  am  unable  to  rank  Hepplewhite 
with  Chippendale  on  the  one  side  or  Sheraton  on 
the  other,  either  in  construction  or  design,  yet  there 
is  an  undefinable  charm  about  his  work,  even  when 
faulty  by  rule,  which,  like  some  old  song,  touches 
a  higher  and  more  human  note  than  can  be  attained 
by  mere  correctness." 


CHAPTER  XII 

THOMAS  SHERATON 
(1751-1806) 

OF  ALL  the  English  craftsmen  and  masters  of 
design  and  applied  art,  Thomas  Sheraton 
was  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  point  of 
character.  His  passing,  at  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  marked  the  end  of  the  Golden  Age 
of  English  cabinet-making.  He  was  the  last,  but 
by  no  means  the  least,  of  the  creators  of  English 
styles.  His  fame  as  a  cabinet-maker  and  furniture 
designer  ranks  next  to  that  of  Thomas  Chippendale, 
and  those  who  believe  that  he  was  Chippendale's 
superior,  that  he  never  had  an  equal  in  his  particular 
field,  are  able  to  support  their  contentions  with  sound 
argument.  Thomas  Sheraton  was  a  genius,  if  there 
ever  was  one. 

Thomas  Sheraton  and  George  Hepplewhite  were 
contemporaries  in  London;  but  in  the  development  of 
style,  Sheraton  followed  Hepplewhite.  Hepple- 
white's  designs  were  the  first  to  achieve  popular- 
ity; Sheraton's  were  the  last  to  give  way  before  the 
invasion  of  barbarism. 

154 


THOMAS  SHERATON  155 

Sheraton  was  born  in  humble  circumstances  at 
Stockton-on-Tees  in  1751,  three  years  before  Chip- 
pendale published  his  "  Director."  He  was  a  coun- 
try lad  who  somehow  managed  to  pick  up  a  fair 
but  unbalanced  education.  He  never  received  ade- 
quate specialized  training.  He  taught  himself  draw- 
ing and  geometry,  and  was  probably  apprenticed  to 
some  local  cabinet-maker.  In  early  life  he  referred 
to  himself  as  a  mechanic,  with  small  advantages  of 
academic  education. 

Little  is  known  of  his  work  until  he  went  to  London 
about  1790,  when  he  was  nearly  forty  years  old.  He 
was  just  a  poor  journeyman  cabinet-maker  and 
Baptist  preacher.  All  his  life  religion  played  an  im- 
portant part  in  his  affairs.  He  was,  in  short,  a 
strange  blend  of  mechanic,  inventor,  artist,  mystic, 
and  religious  controversialist.  His  parents  had  been 
Church  of  England  people,  but  he  became  a  zealous 
Baptist,  preaching  occasionally  in  Baptist  chapels, 
and  issuing  pamphlets  on  religious  topics. 

In  London  he  opened  a  shop  in  Soho.  He  was 
not  a  good  business  man,  and  he  never  achieved  the 
commercial  success  of  Chippendale  or  Hepplewhite. 
In  fact,  his  output  was  very  small.  He  is  suppposed 
to  have  made  and  sold  some  furniture  of  his  own 
and  to  have  executed  orders  for  the  Adam  broth- 


156  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

ers.  But  it  is  doubtful  if  he  ever  executed  many 
of  his  most  cherished  designs,  and  it  is  probable 
that  most  of  the  furniture  attributed  to  him  was 
built  by  others  after  the  drawings  in  his  books. 
After  1793  he  practically  gave  up  the  cabinet-making 
business  and  became  a  designer  and  a  publisher  of 
books.  It  is  upon  these  that  his  fame  chiefly  rests, 
though  there  is  evidence  to  prove  that  he  was  him- 
self a  workman  of  rare  gifts. 

His  first  essay  in  the  publishing  field  was  a  series 
of  eighty-four  designs,  not  dated,  and  now  very  rare. 
His  "  Drawing  Book,"  of  which  I  shall  speak  later, 
appeared  in  1791,  in  quarto  form,  with  111  plates. 
An  "Accompaniment"  and  "Appendix"  were  pub- 
lished during  the  following  two  years.  A  second 
edition  appeared  in  parts  from  1793  to  1796,  with 
119  plates,  and  a  third  edition  in  1802,  with  122  plates. 
In  1803  his  "Dictionary"  appeared,  and  in  1804-7 
his  "Encyclopaedia,"  in  125  parts,  of  which  he  lived 
to  publish  only  thirty.  There  was  also  a  posthu- 
mous volume  by  him,  published  in  1812,  made  up 
chiefly  of  plates  from  the  "Dictionary"  and  "Ency- 
clopaedia," and  called  "Designs  for  Household  Furni- 
ture." 

These  books  were  all  published  by  subscription, 
and  none  of  them  made  any  money  for  their  author. 


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THOMAS  SHERATON  157 

He  did  much  of  the  canvassing  himself,  travelling 
as  far  as  Scotland  and  Ireland.  Of  the  "Drawing 
Book"  782  copies  in  all  were  sold. 

Meanwhile,  however,  Sheraton  had  gained  some 
reputation  as  a  skilled  draughtsman  and  student  of 
design,  and  he  was  able  to  eke  out  a  livelihood  by 
giving  lessons  in  drawing.  He  was  always  poor, 
however,  though  an  industrious  worker.  He  had 
none  of  the  salesman's  gift;  of  tact  in  business  he 
knew  nothing.  He  has  been  called  an  artistic  genius 
living  in  chaotic  poverty. 

For  what  little  we  know  of  Sheraton's  private  life 
we  are  largely  indebted  to  the  "Memoirs"  of  Adam 
Black,  who  later  became  a  successful  publisher  and 
Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh.  Black,  then  a  young 
printer's  apprentice,  lodged  for  a  time  with  the 
Sheratons,  and  was  possibly  once  employed  by  the 
cabinet-maker.  Later  he  aided  in  the  publication 
of  the  "Encyclopaedia,"  and  appears  to  have  held 
Sheraton  in  considerable  respect  even  when  he  first 
knew  the  family. 

"He  lived  in  a  poor  street  in  London,"  writes 
Black,  "his  house  half  shop,  half  dwelling-house, 
and  himself  looked  like  a  worn-out  Methodist  min- 
ister, with  threadbare  black  coat.  I  took  tea  with 
them  one  afternoon.    There  was  a  cup  and  saucer  for 


158  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

the  host,  and  another  for  his  wife,  and  a  little  por- 
ringer for  their  daughter.  The  wife's  cup  and 
saucer  were  given  to  me,  and  she  had  to  put  up 
with  another  little  porringer.  My  host  seemed 
a  good  man,  with  some  talent.  He  had  been  a 
cabinet-maker,  and  was  now  author,  publisher,  and 
teacher  of  drawing,  and,  I  believe,  occasionally 
preacher."  After  a  better  acquaintance  with  Sher- 
aton he  wrote:  "This  many-sided,  worn-out  ency- 
clopaedist and  preacher  is  an  interesting  character. 
.  .  .  He  is  a  man  of  talent  and,  I  believe,  of 
genuine  piety.  He  understands  the  cabinet  business 
— I  believe  was  bred  to  it.  He  is  a  scholar,  writes 
well,  and,  in  my  opinion,  draws  masterly — is  an 
author,  bookseller,  stationer,  and  teacher.  .  .  . 
We  may  be  ready  to  ask  how  came  it  to  pass  that  a 
man  with  such  abilities  and  resources  is  in  such  a 
state.  I  believe  his  abilities  and  his  resources  are 
his  ruin  in  this  respect — by  attempting  to  do  every- 
thing he  does  nothing." 

Such  is  the  sorry  picture  drawn  by  a  contempo- 
rary of  one  of  the  masters  of  English  style,  a  true 
creator  to  whom  posterity  has  accorded  a  juster 
meed  of  fame.  But  with  all  his  poverty,  his  ill  suc- 
cess, and  his  inclination  toward  bitterness,  Sheraton 
was  not  an  unhappy  man.    In  one  of  his  books  he 


THOMAS  SHERATON  159 

wrote:  "I  can  assure  the  reader  though  I  am  thus 
employed  in  racking  my  invention  to  design  fine  and 
pleasing  cabinet-work,  I  can  be  well  content  to  sit 
upon  a  wooden-bottom  chair,  provided  I  can  but  have 
common  food  and  raiment  wherewith  to  pass  through 
life  in  peace."  A  brave  spirit,  truly,  though  possibly 
not  an  entirely  satisfactory  husband  and  father. 

Sheraton  appears  to  have  lived  in  various  parts  of 
London.  At  first  in  Soho,  we  find  him  in  1793  at  41 
Davies  Street,  Berkeley  Square,  and  in  1795  in  Soho 
again,  at  106  Wardour  Street.  The  last  years  of  his 
life  were  spent  at  8  Broad  Street,  Golden  Square. 

He  should  have  acquired  a  competency  as  many  of 
his  fellow-craftsmen  did,  but  he  died  a  poor  man,  his 
latter  days  embittered  by  chagrin  at  his  own  ill 
success  and  at  the  better  luck  of  rivals  whom  he 
knew  to  be  less  competent.  Overwhelmed  by  the 
wave  of  bad  taste  that  had  at  last  set  in,  worn  out 
with  overwork  and  disappointment,  in  a  dingy  street, 
over  a  poor  little  shop,  there  died,  on  October  22, 
1806,  the  last  and  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  masters. 
And  with  him  passed  the  glory  of  the  Georgian  era. 

The  following  obituary  notice,  which  appeared  in 
the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  shows  what  faint  praise 
was  bestowed  upon  him  even  then:  "In  Broad 
Street,  Soho,  after  a  few  days'  illness  of  a  phrenitis, 


160  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

aged  55,  Mr.  Thomas  Sheraton,  a  native  of  Stock- 
ton-on-Tees, and  for  many  years  a  journeyman  cab- 
inet-maker, but  who,  since  the  year  1793,  has  sup- 
ported himself,  a  wife,  and  children,  by  his  exer- 
tions as  an  author.  In  1793  he  published  a  work 
in  two  volumes,  4to,  intitled  'The  Cabinet-Maker 
and  Upholsterer's  Drawing  Book,'  to  which  is 
prefixed  a  numerous  list  of  subscribers,  including 
almost  all  the  principal  cabinet-makers  in  town  and 
country.  Since  that  time  he  has  published  30  vol- 
umes in  folio,  of  a  work  to  be  completed  in  125 
numbers,  intitled  'The  Cabinet-Maker  and  Artist's 
Encyclopaedia,'  of  which  he  sold  nearly  a  thousand 
copies.  In  order  to  increase  the  number  of  sub- 
scribers to  this  work,  he  had  lately  visited  Ireland, 
where  he  obtained  the  sanction  of  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant, the  Marchioness  of  Donegal,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished persons.  He  was  a  very  honest,  well- 
disposed  man,  of  an  acute  and  enterprising  disposi- 
tion; but,  like  many  other  self-taught  authors, 
showed  the  want  of  a  regular  education  in  his  writ- 
ings. He  has  left  his  family,  it  is  feared,  in  dis- 
tressed circumstances." 

Sheraton  lived  in  an  age  when  the  aristocracy 
bought  lavishly  of  luxuries,  but  made  little  of  obscure 
genius.    Hence,  his  style  became  popular  while  the 


THOMAS   SHERATON  161 

man  remained  unappreciated.  His  fame  is  chiefly 
posthumous. 

With  a  century  intervening  to  clarify  our  estimate 
of  his  contribution  to  the  development  of  English 
style,  we  are  forced  to  rank  him  well  up  with  Chip- 
pendale and  Hepplewhite,  if  indeed  he  was  not  the 
superior  of  either  of  them.  If  not  so  versatile  as 
Chippendale,  he  was  truer  to  his  artistic  ideals. 
Chippendale  and  Hepplewhite  were  both  good  work- 
men, but  Sheraton  was  a  poet  in  line  and  colour,  with 
all  of  a  poet's  shortcomings.  His  talent  was  as  fine, 
his  industry  as  unflagging  as  Chippendale's,  but  he 
was  less  able  to  conform  to  the  popular  demands. 
He  was  more  versatile  than  Hepplewhite,  who,  with 
all  his  talent,  had  serious  limitations.  His  many- 
sidedness  was  less  successful  than  Hepplewhite's 
directness;  he  paid  the  penalty  of  his  own  versa- 
tility; he  made  more  mistakes  than  Hepplewhite, 
but  he  achieved  higher  points  of  perfection.  His 
genius  was  less  sane  and  balanced  than  that  of  Chip- 
pendale and  Hepplewhite,  but  he  possessed  greater 
ease  of  technique,  more  grace  of  execution,  a  higher 
ideal  of  beauty,  a  finer  feeling  for  perfection  of  line 
and  proportion.  His  work  was  uneven,  to  be  sure, 
but  no  finer  things  were  ever  designed  outside  of 
France  than  Sheraton's  best. 


162  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

He  was  a  deep  student  of  his  art,  and  he  wrote 
with  some  elegance  of  diction.  But  as  a  writer  he 
was  verbose  and  pedantic.  He  became  known  as 
a  poor,  eccentric  pamphleteer.  His  books  owed 
their  modest  success  to  the  designs  they  contained, 
not  to  his  writings,  for  they  show  a  tart  character 
and  a  self-assertive  and  ungenerous  spirit.  Never- 
theless, they  exhibit  a  broader  outlook  on  art  than 
those  of  his  rivals. 

As  a  man,  Sheraton  possessed  many  faults,  which 
account  in  large  measure  for  his  lack  of  material 
success.  He  was  too  much  of  a  poet  to  be  a  good 
merchant.  He  was  narrow,  bigoted,  self-centred, 
assertive,  jealous  of  the  success  of  others,  sharp 
of  tongue,  of  an  intensely  artistic  temperament.  He 
was  incapable  of  catering  to  the  taste  of  the  wealthy. 
But  he  was  big  in  his  artistic  ideals.  He  gave  his 
best  to  the  world.  He  brooked  no  sham.  His 
work  shows  his  honesty,  refinement,  knowledge  of 
his  art,  and  an  unparalleled  sense  of  beauty.  He 
was  a  skilled  draughtsman  and  mathematician,  a 
man  of  culture  with  strong  doctrinal  proclivities, 
an  ascetic  in  his  mode  of  living.  Withal,  he  was 
the  most  remarkable  figure  in  the  history  of  English 
furniture. 

A  further  word  as  to  his  books,  of  which  mention 


THOMAS  SHERATON  163 

has  already  been  made,  and  upon  which  a  large 
share  of  his  fame  is  based.  The  full  title  of  the 
third  edition  of  his  first  book,  containing  122  cop- 
per plates,  is:  "The  Cabinet-Maker  and  Uphol- 
sterer's Drawing  Book.  In  four  parts.  By  Thomas 
Sheraton,  Cabinet-Maker."  The  first  part  deals 
with  mechanical  drawing  and  geometry,  and  in- 
cludes an  account  of  the  Five  Orders  of  Architec- 
ture, with  the  interesting  theory  that  all  were  of 
Hebrew  origin.  The  second  part  deals  with  per- 
spective and  furniture  designing,  and  the  rest  of 
the  book  is  given  up  to  furniture  designs  with  de- 
scriptions of  them.  Among  other  things,  we  find 
here  shield-back  chairs  similar  to  Hepplewhite's.  The 
Appendix  contains  elaborate  beds,  fine  tables,  pulpits 
with  spiral  stairs  and  graceful  canopies,  and  clock  cases. 

The  text  was  Sheraton's  undoing.  It  displays  his 
conceit  and  his  tendency  to  disparage  the  work  of 
Chippendale  and  all  others.  The  treatise  on  draw- 
ing and  perspective  is  of  limited  value.'  But  the 
designs,  though  of  unequal  merit,  show  the  hand 
of  the  master.  The  best  of  them  display  perfect 
proportion  and  a  pleasing  symmetry.  A  few  are 
absurdly  ornamental.  Many  of  the  chair  backs  are 
delightful  in  grace  and  delicacy.  The  book  was 
republished  in  German  in  Leipzig  in  1794. 


164  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

"The  Cabinet  Dictionary,"  which  was  published 
in  1802-3  and  sold  for  £1  12s.,  contained  88  plates 
with  a  glossary  of  terms,  a  supplementary  treatise 
on  drawing,  etc.  Some  of  the  designs  show  the 
tendency  toward  the  bizarre  which  marred  Shera- 
ton's later  work. 

This  tendency  is  even  more  marked  in  "The  Cabi- 
net-Maker  and  Artist's  Encyclopaedia,"  which  con- 
tained about  50  plates,  printed  in  colour.  Here  we 
find  the  fatal  Empire  tendency.  His  harmonious 
marquetery,  dainty  painting,  and  lightness  of  finish 
have  given  place  to  clumsy  carving  and  brass  mounts. 
Some  of  the  chairs  are  grotesque.  Even  his  charming 
little  work  tables  have  become  squat  and  his  side- 
boards and  bookcases  cumbersome,  and  his  clever 
mechanical  inventions  have  become  freakish. 

The  posthumous  volume,  made  up  largely  from 
the  plates  of  the  last  two  books,  was  entitled  "De- 
signs for  Household  Furniture,  exhibiting  a  variety 
of  Elegant  and  Useful  Patterns  in  the  Cabinet, 
Chair,  and  Upholstery  Branches,  on  eighty-four 
plates,  by  the  late  T.  Sheraton." 

In  style,  Sheraton  was  a  purist  with  leanings 
toward  the  Classic.  In  his  best  work  he  never 
countenanced  ornament  for  its  own  sake.  Sim- 
plicity of  line  he  combined  with  delicacy  and  re- 


Designs  for  richly  inlaid  pier  tables,  from  Sheraton's  "Drawing-Book" 


THOMAS  SHERATON  165 

straint.  His  forms  were  severely  balanced,  his  deco- 
ration finely  finished,  his  design  varied — all  giving 
an  unsurpassed  impression  of  lightness  and  grace. 
Hepplewhite's  work  was  in  vogue  when  Sheraton 
first  came  to  London,  and  his  earlier  designs  were 
in  the  style  of  the  popular  school.  But  he  soon 
felt  the  drift  of  taste  toward  the  Louis  XVI,  the 
chastest  period  of  French  decorative  art,  with  which 
by  nature  he  was  in  sympathy.  His  work,  like  that 
of  the  French  designers,  was  a  reaction  from  the 
rococo  and  represents  the  culmination  of  the  Classic 
spirit  introduced  by  Robert  Adam. 

Sheraton  unquestionably  owed  much  to  his  prede- 
cessors. Like  Hepplewhite,  he  was  quick  to  per- 
ceive the  possibilities  of  the  Adam  style,  and  he 
appreciated  them  more  fully.  It  is  easy  to  trace 
the  Adam  influence  in  his  work,  but  he  was  at  least 
original  in  his  way  of  working  out  the  Adam  the- 
ories, in  the  graceful  sweep  of  such  curves  as  he 
used,  in  the  use  of  the  straight  line  where  it  was 
best  adapted,  in  his  slender  forms,  and  in  his  method 
of  using  satinwood.  As  he  developed  his  style, 
he  became  more  and  more  attached  to  straight  lines, 
square  corners,  and  rectangles,  depending  for  beauty 
on  perfection  of  proportion  and  delicacy  of  interior 
detail,  until  he  was  caught  in  the  tide  of  decadence. 


166  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Sheraton  made  use  of  fine  carving  in  low  relief, 
but  inlay  was  his  specialty.  His  later  work  was 
often  painted,  gilded,  and  otherwise  decorated.  It 
included  carved  satinwood  picked  out  with  gilt,  and 
cameo  panels  with  gorgeously  coloured  wreaths, 
cornucopias,  musical  instruments,  etc.,  were  much 
used.    He  also  inserted  Wedgwood  medallions. 

In  his  carving,  Sheraton  employed  Classic  de- 
tails— the  urn,  vase,  lyre,  swags  of  drapery,  vases 
filled  with  flowers,  and  the  husk  of  wheat  or  bell- 
flower.  He  was  somewhat  less  devoted  to  the 
draped  urn  than  was  Hepplewhite.  These  same 
details  he  employed  to  some  extent  in  his  inlay,  with 
carving  added  only  as  an  accessory.  But  in  his 
best  work,  simple  inlay  predominated — the  husk  and 
the  fine  line  of  light  wood.  He  also  used  the  fan, 
oval,  and  sunburst  forms. 

Sheraton  introduced  in  much  of  his  furniture  the 
reeded  supports  of  Louis  XVI,  which  had  been  em- 
ployed also  by  Adam.  The  reeded  column  in 
sideboards,  tables,  and  desks  he  used  with  fine  ap- 
preciation of  its  value.  A  feature  of  his  cabinets 
was  a  swan-necked  pediment  surmounting  a  cornice 
— the  revival  of  a  Queen  Anne  ornament. 

He  continued  the  use  of  mahogany,  but  employed 
satinwood  quite  as  extensively.    He  also  used  syca- 


THOMAS  SHERATON  167 

more,  tulip-wood,  apple  wood,  rosewood,  kingwood, 
harewood  (sycamore  stained  pale  brown),  white- 
wood  dyed  apple  green,  and  other  materials,  espe- 
cially on  his  smaller  pieces.  He  used  them  as  a 
painter  uses  pigments;  never  were  woods  combined 
with  such  consummate  skill. 

Roughly,  Sheraton's  furniture  may  be  divided 
into  three  classes — carved,  inlaid,  and  painted. 
Many  pieces,  to  be  sure,  were  ornamented  with  both 
inlay  and  moderate  carving.  His  most  notable 
carved  pieces  were  sideboards,  bookcases,  desks,  and 
writing  tables,  which  are  less  commonly  seen  here 
than  in  England.  Noteworthy  among  his  inlaid 
pieces  were  graceful  drop-leaf  tables  ornamented  with 
narrow  lines  of  inlay,  sideboards,  pretty  tea  trays, 
dressing  glasses,  knife  cases,  and  writing  boxes.  The 
best  of  the  painted  furniture  was  designed  by  Shera- 
ton and  decorated  by  such  artists  as  Pergolesi, 
Cipriani,  Angelica  Kauffmann,  and  others.  Some 
of  this  was  executed  for  R.  &  J.  Adam,  and  was  of 
exquisite  workmanship.  Satinwood  formed  the  foun- 
dation for  most  of  it. 

Sheraton's  fame  in  this  country,  like  Hepple- 
white's,  rests  largely  on  his  chairs,  tables,  and  side- 
boards. And  of  these,  perhaps,  his  chairs  stand  out 
preeminent.    In  general  they  were  light,  elegant, 


168  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

and  rather  more  severe  in  style  than  either  Hepple- 
white's  or  Chippendale's.  His  drawing-room  chairs 
are  without  comparison  for  elegance  and  beauty. 

Among  Sheraton's  earlier  chair  backs  were  some 
that  resembled  Hepplewhite's.  Others,  like  those 
of  the  Adam  brothers,  often  consisted  of  two  up- 
rights connected  by  two  slightly  curving  cross- 
pieces,  from  two  to  five  inches  wide,  plain,  carved, 
or  pierced.  Later,  however,  he  largely  abandoned 
these  forms  for  those  based  on  straight  lines  and 
square  corners,  employed  with  great  skill  and  re- 
finement of  composition.  He  has  come  to  be  known 
as  the  exponent  of  the  square  back,  as  Hepplewhite 
was  of  the  oval  and  shield-shape,  though  his  de- 
signs were  not  confined  entirely  to  this  form. 

What  is  commonly  known  as  the  typical  Sheraton 
chair  back  is  a  simple,  rectangular  frame,  the  top 
of  which  is  seldom  curved,  but  often  broken  by 
raising  the  central  portion  slightly  above  the  rest; 
it  is  almost  never  a  perfectly  straight  line.  In  spite 
of  their  rectangularity,  Sheraton's  chair  backs  are 
never  harsh  or  unlovely.  Always  there  is  some 
slight  variation  of  angle  or  breaking  of  line  to  give 
the  touch  of  grace,  and  always  there  is  just  enough 
shaping  of  parts  and  carving  of  details  to  relieve 
the  austerity  without  losing  the  simplicity. 


THOMAS  SHERATON  169 

Sheraton  never  used  the  broad,  pierced  splat  of 
Chippendale,  and  when  he  used  a  splat  at  all,  it 
was  not  joined  directly  to  the  seat,  as  with  Chip- 
pendale, but  to  a  low  cross-piece.  When  he  bor- 
rowed Hepplewhite's  shield,  he  straightened  out  the 
top  and  lightened  the  proportions.  This  type  is  sel- 
dom seen  in  America.  He  frequently  used  a  carved 
and  pierced  piece  in  the  middle  of  the  back  that 
suggests  Hepplewhite  in  its  details  of  urn  and  dra- 
pery, but  his  carving  was  more  restrained  and 
severe  than  Hepplewhite's. 

Within  the  frame  of  the  rectangular  backs  are 
often  found  from  three  to  five  (usually  three)  slen- 
der uprights,  a  pierced  urn  form,  and  occasionally 
diagonal  pieces,  but  never  a  broad,  flat  splat.  The 
outer  uprights  or  stiles  are  continuous  with  the  rear 
legs  of  the  chair.  In  some  of  his  later  work  he 
used  a  lyre-shaped  back,  sometimes  with  brass 
strings — a  style  adopted  by  the  American  cabinet- 
maker, Duncan  Phyfe.  He  also  originated,  or  adapted 
from  Adam  and  the  French,  a  parlour  chair  with  a 
square  back  and  a  round,  upholstered  seat. 

In  his  earlier  arm-chairs,  Sheraton  started  his 
arms  high  up  on  the  back,  as  did  Hepplewhite,  al- 
lowing them  to  sweep  downward  with  an  easy  curve 
toward  the  front  supports,  which  were  usually 


170  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

straight  and  continuous  with  the  front  legs.  These 
high  arms  helped  to  support  the  back  and  made  for 
strength.  Later  he  lowered  the  arms  somewhat, 
varied  their  shape,  and  curved  the  supports. 

Sheraton's  chair  legs  are  slender  and  tapering, 
sometimes  square  and  sometimes  round.  The 
reeded  round  legs  of  his  tables  and  sideboards,  how- 
ever, are  seldom  found  on  his  chairs.  The  square 
legs  are  most  commonly  found  with  square  seats  and 
backs,  the  round  ones  with  curves.  He  used  no 
underframing  on  his  chairs.  The  ornamentation  of 
his  turned  legs  is  always  restrained.  The  square 
legs  are  sometimes  carved  in  low  relief  patterns, 
sometimes  reeded  or  fluted,  sometimes  plain.  Often 
they  terminate  in  the  spade  foot  which  Hepplewhite 
introduced.  Sheraton  never  used  the  Dutch  leg 
or  the  Chippendale  cabriole,  and  never  the  ball- 
and-claw  foot. 

Sheraton's  chairs  were  mostly  of  mahogany  or 
satinwood,  though  some  of  his  later  designs  were 
produced  in  beech,  painted  white  and  gold.  His 
parlour  chairs  were  upholstered  in  the  seats  in  a 
manner  similar  to  Hepplewhite's,  in  silk  or  satin, 
striped,  figured,  or  painted  or  printed  with  formal 
designs.  The  seats  of  his  later  painted  chairs  were 
sometimes  of  rush.     He  also  revived,  to  a  small 


THOMAS  SHERATON  171 

extent,  the  use  of  cane  which  had  been  popular  in 
the  time  of  Charles  II. 

Sheraton's  sofas  were,  as  a  rule,  long,  simple, 
and  of  elegant  proportions,  fashioned  chiefly  on 
straight  lines.  Most  of  the  details  of  design  were 
similar  to  those  of  his  chairs. 

Sheraton's  tables  exhibit  a  great  variety  of  pat- 
tern. They  were  for  the  most  part  dainty,  with 
slender,  tapering  legs,  and  were  usually  not  carved, 
but  decorated  with  a  delicate  inlay  of  lines  or  husks. 
There  were  many  shapes  of  tops,  mostly  showing 
curves,  and  with  various  forms  of  leaves.  The 
Sheraton  table  tops  were  often  inlaid,  sometimes 
elaborately;  some  of  them  were  painted.  There 
were  card  tables,  with  square  or  turned  legs,  and 
with  a  top  of  wood  rather  than  of  baize.  The 
Pembroke  table  is  a  pattern  of  the  Sheraton  period, 
with  hinged  leaves  supported  on  brackets  instead 
of  on  movable  legs  as  in  former  styles.  The  pouch 
table  was  Sheraton's  invention — a  work  table  with 
a  silk  bag  suspended  from  a  frame.  He  also  made 
dining-tables  in  two  parts  to  form  a  circle. 

Sheraton's  sideboards  were,  and  still  are,  very 
popular  in  this  country,  with  their  gracefully  curved 
surfaces  and  fine  inlay.  In  the  main  the  shape  fol- 
lowed that  of  the  Hepplewhite  and  Shearer  side- 


172  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

boards,  except  that  Sheraton's  end  curves  were  con- 
vex while  Hepplewhite's  were  concave.  They  usu- 
ally had  four  tapering  legs  in  front  and  often  a 
brass  rail  or  rails  on  top  at  the  back.  [Frequently 
they  were  furnished  with  cleverly  fashioned  draw- 
ers and  cupboards,  and  in  some  instances  with  a 
sliding  desk  for  the  butler's  accounts. 

Sheraton  was,  indeed,  without  a  rival  in  the  in- 
vention of  ingenious  mechanisms.  There  were  tables 
which  opened  out  to  form  writing  desks,  dressing 
tables  with  concealed  mirrors  and  other  accessories, 
desks  with  secret  drawers,  etc.  In  some  cases  these 
mechanical  additions  were  almost  too  complicated 
to  be  practical,  but  they  had  their  vogue  at  the  time. 

Sheraton  designed  many  sorts  of  desks,  book- 
cases, and  cabinets.  There  were  bureau-bookcase 
desks,  with  many  drawers  and  pigeonholes,  and 
slight  boudoir  desks  for  ladies,  with  concealed  draw- 
ers, etc.  He  was  fond  of  placing  gathered  green 
silk  behind  the  glass  doors  of  bookcases  and  cabinets. 

There  were  numerous  useful  and  often  cleverly 
constructed  articles  for  use  in  the  library  and  bed- 
room. There  was  a  library  table,  for  example,  with 
disappearing  steps,  book  rests,  secret  drawers,  etc. 
Satinwood  was  largely  used  for  the  commodes,  bu- 
reaus, small  writing-desks,  toilet  tables,  and  other 


THOMAS  SHERATON  173 

articles  for  the  boudoir.  Some  of  the  painted  ones, 
decorated  by  Kauffmann  and  Pergolesi,  were  ex- 
tremely dainty  and  elegant— as  fine  as  anything  in 
the  Louis  XVI  style.  Indeed,  they  may  be  said 
to  mark  the  culmination  of  style  in  English  furni- 
ture before  degeneracy  set  in. 

Sheraton's  beds  depended  for  their  effect  largely 
on  drapery  and  upholstery.  He  was  a  master  in 
the  handling  of  draped  lines,  but  he  rather  overdid 
it.  His  beds  included  elegant  four-posters  with 
wonderfully  arranged  curtains,  alcove  beds,  sofa 
beds,  summer  beds  (including  one  divided  in  the 
centre  to  give  greater  circulation  of  air),  French 
beds,  state  beds,  beds  with  domes  and  canopies,  etc. 
They  were  usually  built  high  from  the  floor  and 
required  steps  to  mount  them. 

Sheraton  offered  designs  for  inlaid,  painted,  and 
japanned  tall  clocks,  and  later,  as  these  went  out 
of  fashion  soon  after  1800,  shelf  and  bracket  clocks. 
They  were  not  always  suited  to  the  works  and  dials 
then  in  use,  and  often  lacked  something  of  grace, 
but  his  use  of  inlay  undoubtedly  influenced  other 
makers  of  clock  cases.  It  is  quite  possible  that  no 
clocks  were  ever  made  to  most  of  the  Chippendale 
or  Sheraton  designs,  as  the  clockmakers  were  con- 
servative and  did  not  welcome  novelty  or  variety. 


174  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

Neither  Chippendale  nor  Hepplewhite  was  Sher- 
aton's equal  in  the  designing  of  small  bijou  pieces 
for  ladies.  In  some  respects  they  represent  the 
high-water  mark  of  Sheraton's  work,  being  beauti- 
fully inlaid  and  of  elegant  execution.  His  tea  cad- 
dies, urns,  and  knife  boxes  were  more  varied  than 
Hepplewhite's  and  daintier.  He  designed  toilet 
glasses,  fire  screens,  liqueur  cases,  small  cabinets,  etc. 

In  addition  to  his  furniture  designing,  Sheraton 
did  a  moderate  amount  of  interior  decoration,  in- 
cluding a  Chinese  room,  after  the  Chambers-Chip- 
pendale manner,  for  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

The  less  said  about  Sheraton's  latest  work,  the 
better  for  his  reputation.  The  craze  for  the  style 
of  the  French  Empire,  at  its  best  a  somewhat  un- 
natural and  debased  style,  forced  Sheraton  into 
line.  He  was  perhaps  too  versatile  and  adaptable 
to  stand  against  it  in  his  later  years;  possibly  pov- 
erty forced  him  to  stray  from  those  lofty  artistic 
ideals  that  characterized  his  earlier  work.  He  him- 
self attributed  all  this  to  the  decline  in  popular  taste, 
but  a  stronger  personality  might  have  stemmed  the 
flood  yet  a  little  while  longer.  He  succumbed  to 
the  reaction  from  the  chaste  and  delicately  fash- 
ioned Classic  toward  the  heavy,  over-elaborate,  fan- 
tastic, and  stiffly  formal.    The  designs  in  his  last 


THOMAS  SHERATON  17.") 

books  show  a  great  decline  in  lightness,  grace, 
charm,  and  meaning.  They  were  better  than  some 
of  those  produced  by  his  contemporaries,  but  they 
did  not  represent  Sheraton. 

The  most  extreme  of  these  designs  rioted  in 
sphinxes,  fabulous  beasts,  dull  and  cumbrous  forms, 
and  various  ornamental  extravagances,  worse  than 
anything  produced  in  France  or  America.  Chair 
legs  were  ungracefully  curved,  with  the  concave 
facing  outward,  less  attractive  than  either  the  cabri- 
ole or  the  straight  forms,  and  executed  with  far 
less  skill  than  those  of  Duncan  Phyfe.  Chair  backs 
were  full  of  curves,  restless  and  inappropriate. 
His  so-called  Herculaneum  chair,  based  on  Roman 
lines,  was  a  noteworthy  example.  The  beds  show 
a  distinct  decadence  of  style.  Some  of  his  cabinets, 
etc.,  were  not  so  bad,  and  he  did  at  least  refine  the 
brass  mounts  that  had  become  popular,  but  for  the 
most  part  these  latest  designs  fell  hopelessly  below 
his  former  level. 

In  this  country  the  influence  of  Sheraton  lasted 
rather  longer  than  in  England,  for  our  styles  were  not 
complicated  by  the  Egyptian  fad.  And  we  had,  in 
Duncan  Phyfe,  the  New  York  cabinet-maker,  a 
worthy  successor  who  kept  the  Classic  tradition  alive 
for  yet  a  little  while.    If  Phyfe  had  lived  and  done 


176  CREATORS  OF  DECORATIVE  STYLES 

his  work  in  England,  he  would  deserve  an  honourable 
place  among  the  creators  of  English  styles.  To  a 
thorough  appreciation  of  the  delicacy  and  refinement 
of  the  Adam  and  Sheraton  styles  he  added  a  native 
originality  in  ornament  and  an  unsurpassed  feeling 
for  curve  and  proportion.  But  even  Phyfe  suc- 
cumbed at  last  to  the  popular  demand  for  the  heavier 
Empire  forms. 

In  England  the  Gillows  and  others  produced  furni- 
ture of  rosewood  inlaid  with  brass  and  other  types 
fashionable  in  the  early  nineteenth  century.  Some 
of  this  was  not  bad  in  design,  but  in  general  it  showed 
the  passing  of  good  taste. 

The  chief  exponent  of  the  decadent  style  in  Eng- 
land, suggested  by  Sheraton's  later  work,  was  Sir 
Thomas  Hope,  who  published  a  book  of  designs  for 
furniture  interiors,  crowded  with  restless,  extra- 
vagant, and  artistically  meaningless  forms  of  Roman 
and  Egyptian  derivation.  His  interiors  looked  more 
like  sections  of  a  museum  of  antiquities  than  rooms 
in  livable  homes: 

A  debased  treatment  of  French  Empire  forms  fol- 
lowed. In  America,  after  1812,  this  style  was  ap- 
plied with  less  extravagance,  but  even  here  the  furni- 
ture was  heavy,  with  broad  veneered  surfaces  and 
sweeping  scrolls  and  curves.    Then  followed,  in 


An  inlaid  sideboard  with  knife  cases,  a  brass  candelabrum,  and  a  tambour 
front.    From  Sheraton's  "Drawing-Book" 


An  example  of  the  decadent  style  of  Sheraton's  later  years.  "Hercu- 
laniums,"  from  his  "Cabinet  Dictionary" 


THOMAS  SHERATON  177 

both  countries,  a  reversion  to  a  degenerate  rococo, 
ornately  carved  cherry  and  rosewood,  black  walnut, 
and  after  that  the  Deluge. 

With  the  decline  of  Sheraton's  best  period,  in- 
comparable as  it  was,  there  passed  the  glory  of 
English  style.  The  English  furniture  of  the  late 
eighteenth  century  was  rivalled  by  that  of  France 
alone;  none  better  has  ever  been  designed  or  fash- 
ioned. It  is  the  irony  of  the  history  of  art  that  this 
Golden  Age  owed  its  death  partly  to  the  fall  of  its 
greatest  master. 


THE  END 


THE  COUNTRY  LIFE  PRESS 
GARDEN  CITY,  N.  Y. 


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